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Dan Legg's avatar

I love the magic of the “watching the sunrise” which became true at the end with the beautiful painting by Frederic Edwin Church!

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Aristotle Study Group's avatar

Thank you for this comment!

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Charles Clemens's avatar

While it appears that you and I have free will, it has been predetermined what our thoughts and actions will be.

Similarly, we can count on the Earth spinning around the sun and making us believe the sun is rising in the East every morning. The mind is deceptive and cannot be trusted.

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Aristotle Study Group's avatar

Hey there, thank you for your comment. In the text I discuss Aristotle argues that part of the future finds its origin in what we are doing in the present and that the present and future were not let's say decided ten thousand years ago by an external author. Do you agree or disagree?

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Charles Clemens's avatar

I'm always happy to make new friends on Substack. Aristotle is considered one of the intellectual "immortals" (along with Plato, Goethe, Newton, Tesla, and Einstein). He also believed that Earth was the center of the universe, with the planets, the stars, the sun, and the moon spinning around it. We all make mistakes.

Today, I am given a choice between enjoying my wife's chicken and dumplings or stabbing her with a knife. I'm pretty sure I know what's going to happen.

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Aristotle Study Group's avatar

Yes, but if 20 years ago someone claimed that you would have the choice to eat chicken and dumplings today was their claim already true 20 years ago?

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Charles Clemens's avatar

Yes. In fact, if my mother had told me in 1954 that I would be enjoying chicken and dumplings on August 2, 2024, I would have believed her. And she would have been right.

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Aristotle Study Group's avatar

Aristotle predicted 2300 years ago that you wouldn't stab your wife today. I'm glad it came true.

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Charles Clemens's avatar

I give him 100% of the credit. And because I didn't stab her, she's making me a cheesecake.

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Mr . Ma's avatar

good words 👍👍👍

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