  According to Aristotle, if the opponent refuses to speak, he is no better off than a vegetable. While this may seem to be merely ill-tempered abuse, it has a serious side. If the opponent rejects PNC and essentialism, then he cannot explain why he is not a vegetable. Aristotelian essentialism, if correct, applies to oneself as well as to other things in the world. At first sight, it is not clear why the PNC-opponent is left with a picture of anything. But perhaps that is Aristotle’s point. Aristotle gives the PNC-opponent a world in which accidents can be linked up in any way he likes. Anything goes in such a world, or nothing goes, depending on his taste. Alternatively, as Aristotle puts it, “all things will be one” (Metaph IV 4 1007a19).