exercising choice, without any need for illustrative examples. At other times, they seek to establish through inference that this is known self-evidently.

He said in reply: “As for the claim of self-evident knowledge that perception occurs when these conditions are present, there is no dispute over it. But self-evident knowledge that it does not occur when they are absent is precisely what is disputed.”

He said: “If you claim that we are obstinately denying the obvious, we would swear the most solemn oaths that, upon examining ourselves, we found our knowledge of this to be no greater than our knowledge that customary events will continue in their usual course—although you agree with us that they may depart from that course. For just as a person finds it implausible that he could take a red-hot piece of iron in his hand without feeling its heat, so too does he find it implausible that he could go to the Jayhūn and find its water entirely turned to blood or honey, and see