Lazy argument

The Lazy Argument or Idle Argument (Ancient Greek: ἀργὸς λόγος) is either an argument for fatalism or an attempt at undermining the philosophical doctrine of fatalism. Its basic form is that of a complex constructive dilemma.

History

The general idea behind the Lazy Argument can already be found in Aristotle's De Interpretatione, chapter 9. The earliest surviving text that provides the argument in full is Cicero's On Fate 28-9. It is also presented in Origen, Against Celsus (Cels II 20) and mentioned in Pseudo-Plutarch, On Fate 574e. Seneca Natural Questions II 38.3 provides evidence for a similar argument.

Argument

Here is the argument, as found in Origen:

The argument has force only for those who accept that what happens to people is determined by fate.

Refutation

The Stoic philosopher Chrysippus' refutation of the lazy argument is given in Cicero's On Fate (De fato) and in Eusebius' Preparation for the Gospel (Praeparatio evangelica). The argument, as presented by Cicero, calls upon the idea that an event is 'co-fated' with other events. As in the example above, if it is fated for someone to recover from an illness, then the necessary steps towards recovery are also fated, and can be said to be co-fated along with this final event; so whilst recovery will occur, the steps towards recovery must also occur and evidently will occur if one is truly fated to recover.