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Full Idea
The man who, though exceedingly hungry and thirsty, and both equally, yet being equidistant from food and drink, is therefore bound to stay where he is.
Gist of Idea
A very hungry man cannot choose between equidistant piles of food
Source
Aristotle (On the Heavens [c.336 BCE], 296b33)
Book Ref
Aristotle: 'The Basic Works of Aristotle', ed/tr. McKeon,Richard [Modern Library Classics 2001], p.433
A Reaction
This is, of course, Buridan's famous Ass, but this quotation has the advantage of precedence, and also of being expressed in an original quotation (which does not exist for Buridan).
Related Ideas
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| 395 | It seems possible that there exists a limited number of other worlds apart from this one [Aristotle] |
| 396 | There has to be some goal, and not just movement to infinity [Aristotle] |
| 1498 | Everyone agrees that the world had a beginning, but thinkers disagree over whether it will end [Aristotle] |
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| 399 | If the more you raise some earth the faster it moves, why does the whole earth not move? [Aristotle] |
| 19740 | A very hungry man cannot choose between equidistant piles of food [Aristotle] |
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