"It Was to Be"

When Mr. Coleman walked in to the Coffeehouse last week, he asked Charles and Maggie if they have ever thought about free will and determinism and if they were familiar with the 20th C. philosopher Gilbert Ryle, who reflected on this topic. Curious---and familiar with the name of the influential British philosopher---Maggie asked Coleman for more details.
Coleman replied thusly:

"Ryle poses for deliberation a situation where he coughed and then went to bed. He noted that thus it was true that when he coughed (on Sunday, as it occurred) it was therefore true that on Saturday---and always beforehand---that on Sunday he would cough at the one moment and then go to bed at the other. But if it was true beforehand that Ryle was to cough and go to bed on Sunday, then he was not able to avoid doing so. Hence, Ryle's coughing and going to bed was determined and unavoidable. And further, he wasn't free to avoid this!"

Yikes!! What do you make of Mr. Coleman's challenge?? Surely professor Ryle wasn't pre-determined to cough and then take to his bed! Or was he??
Please formulate your thoughts and submit your reasoned responses below...good luck!....Ron Barnette

[A humble proprietor's note: for those who might want to explore some further reading on the topic of the inconsistency of possible prior truths and free action, but totally independent of this new challenge, I must add, you might want to look at this piece I wrote for a logic class many years ago:
Omniscience and Freedom: A Case for the Opposition...RB]

 

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For your ongoing enjoyment, I want to keep these so-called Impossible Objects on here, as you contemplate the new challenge. I continually receive positive comments from many loyal Coffeehouse patrons. If you locate other good ones, please let me know. Enjoy!...Ron Barnette

 

Some Impossible Objects

I credit Jim Loy for these marvelous example of so-called impossible objects, which should amuse you faithful Zeno's patrons, who appreciate thought-provoking stimulation.

Freemish crate 1. Asymmetric crate. An M. C. Escher creation, I surmise
Penrose staircase 2. The Penrose staircase: Often drawn by M. C. Escher. Clockwise is downstairs forever.
tribar 3. The tribar: Another impossible object by R. Penrose. It's hard to know how to color it, as the interior becomes the exterior.
Penrose triangle 4. The Penrose triangle: Another famous impossible object by R. Penrose. This is sometimes called a tribar (see #3, above).
ambihelical hexnut 5. An ambiguous ring...What is the outside? The inside?