I got 99 problems but fatalism's not one.

The following might create 101 problems, but it solves 202. The net gain is worth it.

[O]f two things whose existence follows from
each other, it would be reasonable to say that
the one which is any way the cause of the other
is prior by nature to it. That there are such things
is clear from the following. A man’s existence
and the truth of the statement that he exists
follow from each other; for if a man exists, the
statement ‘a man exists’ is true, and conversely,
if that statement is true, a man exists, whereas
the fact appears to be in some way the cause
of the true statement; for it is by virtue of
the existence or nonexistence of that
fact that the statement is true or false,
respectively.

The Philosopher, Categories 14b9-19

Aristotle seems to be saying this:

(1) Necessarily, if a man exists, then the statement ‘a man exists’ is true.

And,

(2) Necessarily, if the statement ‘a man exists’ is true, then a man exists.

But,

(3) Necessarily, for every true proposition p, p’s truth is caused by x, where ‘x’ is the state of affairs expressed by p.

And,

(4) Necessarily, for every true proposition p, the being of x, where ‘x’ is the state of affairs expressed by p, is not caused by the truth of p.

Suck it.