Chance, Fortune, and Luck In Plato’s Laws.

Plato's Laws differs from the Republic with regard to its claims about the role that chance plays in political life. In contrast to the Republic, the Laws does not proceed as though the problematic character of chance can be eliminated in political life. This paper makes three main arguments about the role of chance in the Laws. First, I argue that far from denying the role that chance must inevitably play in political life, the Athenian Stranger actually treats chance as a kind of necessary and dominant legislator within the city. Second, I argue that despite the fundamental ineradicability and power of chance, the Stranger nonetheless leaves some room ­--albeit room that always lies within boundaries established by chance--­ for the important role of the legislative or political art in the city. Third, I conclude that the Laws suggests that good fortune and luck improve the chance that the lawgiver will wisely craft political life. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]