Review of Aristotle's quote:What lies in our power to do, lies in our power not to do

I agree with Aristotle's view that"What it lies in our power to do, it lies in our power not to do." in reference to the story of "Adeline Ng Ai Choo" in the book entitled "Little Ironies ~Stories of Singapore" by Catherine Lim.

I will be using two elements of Paul's wheel of reasoning in this discussion to support the quotation.These two elements are evidence/data and implications/consequences.

To begin, I am using evidence to support Aristotle’s view that "What it lies in our power to do, it lies in our power not to do."Evidence such as the note by Adeline to her parents and her diary stated that her parents had expectations which were too high for her standard. Therefore she received tremendous stress which she was unable to manage.

Secondly,the class teacher noticed Adeline's sudden change and tried to helpbutdid not take additional precautions to prevent the tragic incidence.

To continue,in addition to the use of evidence, I would agree that "What it lies in our power to do, it lies in our power not to do." by using the consequences from Paul’s Wheel of Reasoning.

Firstly,her parents had the power to give her less stress by recognizing her limits and set their expectations accordingly but they didn't.thereby, resulting in the lost of their daughter.

Secondly,the subject teacher is also responsible because she had the power to give her a passing grade but she didn't. Even the class teacher is involved because the class teacher could have found out what was worrying Adeline but the class teacher didn't do it.Thereby, resulting in the lost of their student and it is very sad thing to loss a student due to an academic cause.

In conclusion, by using evidence and consequences for the above examples, I agree with Aristoltle that "What it lies in our power to do, it lies in our power not to do".

Thank you for your reading.Have a pleasant day.