Perfectionist Luck: Involuntary Factors and Obstacles in the Perfection of the Soul

Document Type : Research Paper

Authors

1 Assistant Professor, Department of Religions and Mysticism, Islamic Research Foundation of Astan Quds Razavi, Mashhad, Iran

2 Department of Philosophy, Faculty of Theology and Islamic Sciences, University of Tehran, Tehran, Iran

10.22091/jptr.2026.12532.3263

Abstract

This study addresses a critical theoretical gap between philosophical perfectionism—which posits human flourishing (eudaimonia) in the actualization of essential human capacities—and the phenomenon of moral luck, which highlights the impact of involuntary factors on moral assessment. It introduces and systematically elaborates the novel concept of "Perfectionist Luck" to capture the dynamic, non-voluntary factors that actively shape the very process of ethical self-cultivation (or soul-perfection). The central problem is to explain how such luck influences the internal trajectory of moral development, moving beyond its recognized role in external, retrospective judgment. Employing a method of systematic conceptual analysis, the research constructs a three-dimensional framework—existential, ethical-normative, and deontological—to articulate this influence. The findings demonstrate that Perfectionist Luck not only necessitates a model of personalized ethical duties and unique flourishing paths, grounded in human species-capabilities, but also fundamentally reorients the basis of moral judgment towards contextually sensitive evaluations. Consequently, it establishes the groundwork for a sophisticated, chance-informed deontological perspective. The paper concludes by defending the conceptual coherence and logical robustness of Perfectionist Luck through the anticipation and resolution of major philosophical objections.

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Journal of Philosophical Theological Research

Articles in Press, Accepted Manuscript
Available Online from 04 May 2026

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