14 Intuitive Thinking as a Spiritual Path
Even here, only motives in general are discussed, with-
out considering the difference between conscious and un-
conscious motives. If a motive acts upon me, and I am
forced to follow it because it proves to be the “strongest”
of its kind, then the thought of freedom ceases to have any
meaning. Why should it matter to me whether I can do
something or not, if I amforced by the motive to do it? The
first question is not whether I can or cannot do something
once the motive has operated upon me, but whether there
exist only motives of the kind that operate with compelling
necessity. IfI have to will something, then I may even be
utterly indifferent as to whether I can actually do it. If, be-
cause of my character and the circumstances prevailing in
my environment, a motive were forced upon me that my
thinking showed me was unreasonable, then I would even
have to be glad if I could not do what I will.
It is not a question of whether I can execute a decision
once it is made, but of how the decision arises within me.
What distinguishes humans from all other organic be-
ings rests on rational thinking. Activity we have in com-
mon with other organisms. Seeking analogies for human
action in the animal kingdom does not help to clarify the
concept of freedom. Modern natural science loves such
analogies. And when science succeeds in finding among
animals something similar to human action, it believes it
has touched on the most important question of the sci-
ence of humanity. Paul Rée’s book,The Illusion of Free
Will offers one example of the misunderstandings to
which this opinion leads. On page 5, Rée states, with re-
gard to freedom,
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