Michael Hauskeller’s “Why Buridan’s Ass Doesn’t Starve” (Essay Sample)

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Michael Hauskeller’s “Why Buridan’s Ass Doesn’t Starve”
Summary
The essay “Why Buridan’s Ass Doesn’t Starve” by Micahel Hauskeller argues for the free will paradox. There are several issues that arise from the essay, especially from the presentation style by the author. Buridan’s Ass is the paradox named after Jean Buridan, who postulated a hypothetical situation where a donkey finds itself precisely equidistant between two equally big and accessible hay bales. However, because the two bales are identical, it cannot find a reason for choosing one bale over the other and ends up starving to death because of its indecision. Although the author employed satire and humor in his essay, he aims to demonstrate that freewill does not exist in real instances. Through the use of satire, he manages to show that freewill is an alien concept in real life. The author argues against several aspects of this notion. This is done by stating that the paradox is flawed in that there are no situations in real life where two options can be identical to ensure that the weighted reasons for a choice are equal. Hauskeller also theorizes that even if the two bales of hay were equally attractive, donkeys do not require free will to break the tie: “Buridan’s Ass is a mere fiction…No matter how artfully we arrange the situation, a donkey will not hesitate long, if at all, and will soon choose one of the piles of hay. He doesn’t care which, and he certainly