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The Phantom of Chance

From Fortune to Randomness in Seventeenth-Century French Literature

John D Lyons author

Format:Hardback

Publisher:Edinburgh University Press

Published:30th Nov '11

Currently unavailable, and unfortunately no date known when it will be back

The Phantom of Chance cover

How the classical and medieval conceptions of Fortune shifted to the modern notion of chance. Is chance nothing more than a projection of human desire on to the world? In this fascinating new study, John Lyons argues that the idea of chance assumed new vigour in the late Renaissance, when converging philosophical and literary currents demystified the powerful concept of Fortune, sensitizing writers to the relationship between human desire and the world's apparent randomness. Up to now, the story of chance has been written by historians of mathematical thought and has focused on calculation, probability and gambling. Lyons, by contrast, highlights the ethical, aesthetic and even erotic aspects of chance. He offers detailed readings of the works of major French authors - Montaigne, Corneille, Lafayette, Scudery, Pascal, Racine, Bossuet, and La Bruyere. Key Features * Renews our understanding of romance, tragedy, comedy & religious polemic in the light of the changed conceptions of the fortuitous * Shows how the emergence of suspense and subjective interest are linked to the shift from Fortune to randomness * Proposes a new view on how religious writers, faced with the sceptical challenge of late Renaissance thought, integrated chance into the post-Reformation mainstream of Catholic teachings Keywords: Chance, Fortune, Randomness, Probability, French Early Modern Literature, post-Reformation, Genre, Romance, Prose, Montaigne, Corneille, Moliere, Lafayette, Scudery, Pascal, Racine, Bossuet, La Bruyere

"John Lyons' new take on the issue of chance, supported by illuminating interpretations of major 17th- century French texts, invites the reader to rethink the enigmatic links between randomness and necessity. Beautifully written, powerfully argued, The Phantom of Chance is a major contribution to the intellectual and literary history of modern times." -- Professor Thomas Pavel, University of Chicago "John D. Lyons brilliantly shows how, in both literary and religious writing of the Seventeenth Century, the quest for pattern has to come to terms with the apparently irreducible element of randomness in human life. Original in conception, broad in perspective, subtle in analysis, this is a remarkable book." -- Professor Michael Moriarty, Drapers Professor of French, University of Cambridge

ISBN: 9780748645152

Dimensions: unknown

Weight: 503g

240 pages