free(dom

 

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Imagining we have free will is
exactly as if water spoke to itself:  

I can make waves 
(yes! in the sea during a storm), 

I can rush downhill 
(yes! in the river bed), 

I can plunge down foaming and gushing 
(yes! in the waterfall), 

I can rise freely as a stream of water into the air 
(yes! in the fountain), 

I can, finally, boil away and disappear 
(yes! at a certain temperature); 

but I am doing none of these things now, 
and am of my own accord remaining quiet 
and clear water in the reflecting pond.


—Arthur Schopenhauer

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