Accident
A Philosophical and Literary History
- Contents
- Review Quotes
- Awards

Introduction: The Shock of Experience
ONE / Accidental Origins: Defining Accidental Qualities and Events
TWO / Divine Substance: Assimilation of Accident within Christian Theology
THREE / Skeptical Accidents: Secularization of Accident during the Reformation
FOUR / Accidental Experience: Radical Enlightenment and the Science of Accident
FIVE / Novel Accidents: Self-Determining Accidents in Print Culture
SIX / The Textual Self: Opportunity and Emotion in the Creation of the Individual
SEVEN / The Accidental Sublime: Returning Substance to Accidental Events
EIGHT / Altered States: The Macroscopic Impact of Accidental Qualities
NINE / The Form of Accident: The Boundaries of Perception
TEN / Envisioning Accident: Searching for Substance in an Accidental World
Conclusion: Pattern Recognition
Bibliography
Index
“Beautifully and lucidly written, Accident balances a series of elegant and convincing close readings—always supported by an impressive command of the critical terms—of texts from Oedipus Rex through Musil’s Man without Qualities with a compelling and closely reasoned narrative arc. This is one of the most exciting, imaginative, and original books I’ve read in years, as well as one of the most accomplished and learned: it is truly innovative literary criticism grounded in solid literary scholarship.”—Helen Deutsch, University of California, Los Angeles
“I am impressed by the diversity and range of the learning Ross Hamilton applies to a difficult and varied topic, largely invented by himself. A new topic, a new way of dealing with it, and a philosophical/literary treatment by a good writer—surely it will attract informed attention.”
“This book is a remarkable contribution to a comprehensive definition of modernity. It deserves the greatest attention, for it takes full account of the background and the main symptoms of the modern mind, both in philosophy and in literature.”
“Ross Hamilton’s Accident: A Philosophical and Literary History is a highly erudite comparative study….Displaying not only great literary-historical, comparative, and philosophical breadth but also rich interpretive depth, this study demonstrates something that could be called prismatic ingenuity, illuminating multiple aspects of ‘accident,’ many of which are far from obvious.”
American Comparative Literature Association: Harry Levin Prize
Won
History: History of Ideas
Literature and Literary Criticism: General Criticism and Critical Theory
Philosophy: General Philosophy
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