Buridan’s Ass
Buridan’s Ass
The story of the ass, which died of hunger and thirst because incapable of deciding between water and food placed at equal distances from him, is employed to support the free-will doctrine. A man, it is argued, if confronted by a similar situation, would by the exercise of his free-will, be able to resolve the equilibrium of opposing motives. The story of the ass is attributed to John Buridan, a 14th century nominalist who discussed the freedom of the will in his Quaestiones in decem libros ethicorum Aristotelis, 1489, Bk. Ill, quest. I, but is not, in fact, to be found in his writings. (Cf. A.G. Langley, translation of Leibniz’s New Essays Concerning Human Understanding, p. 116 n.) Dante relates the story in Paradiso, IV. — L.W.