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Buridan's ass

British

/ ˈbjʊərɪdənz /

noun

philosophy an example intended to show the deficiency of reason. An ass standing equidistant from two identical heaps of oats starves to death because reason provides no grounds for choosing to eat one rather than the other

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Etymology

Origin of Buridan's ass

named after Jean Buridan , 14th-century French philosopher, to whom it was incorrectly attributed

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

I feel like I’m turning into Buridan’s ass and will end up reading neither as I gaze back and forth, unable to choose.

From New York Times • Jul. 11, 2011

In short, to distinguish is folly; 'Twixt the pair I am come to the pass Of Macheath, between Lucy and Polly,— Or Buridan's ass.

From The Book of Humorous Verse by Wells, Carolyn

After all, this last word of moral science is scarcely more than the cry of Pyrrhus set betwixt good and evil, or Buridan's ass between the two measures of oats.

From The Magic Skin by Marriage, Ellen

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023