And if, through my character, or through circumstances prevailing in my environment, a motive is forced on me which to my thinking is unreasonable, then I should even have to be glad if I could not do what I want. The question is not whether I can carry out a decision once made, but how the decision comes about within me . What distinguishes man from all other organic beings arises from his rational thinking. Activity he has in common with other organisms. Nothing is gained by seeking analogies in the animal world to clarify the concept of freedom as applied to the actions of human beings.
Modern science loves such analogies.
When scientists have succeeded in finding among animals something similar to human behavior, they believe they have touched on the most important question of the science of man. The causes which set the stone in motion are external and visible, while the causes which determine the donkey's volition are internal and invisible. Between us and the place of their activity there is the skull of the ass. . . . The determining causes are not visible and therefore thought to be non-existent. But enough of examples which prove that many argue against freedom without knowing in the least what freedom is.