or every moving thing in it could move in the direction opposite to that in which it moves, so that a stone could move upwards, fire downwards, eastward motion could be westward, and westward motion eastward.

The second premise is that whatever is contingent is originated and has an originator—that is, an originating agent who gives precedence to one of its two possible states over the other.”

He said:

“As for the first premise, it is rhetorical, resting on first impressions. With regard to some parts of the world, its falsehood is self-evident—for example, that a human being could exist with a constitution other than the one he has. With regard to other parts, the matter is doubtful—for example, whether eastward motion could be westward and westward motion eastward. This is not self-evident, since it could be due to a cause whose existence is not self-evident, or to one of the causes hidden from human beings.