"Nempe falluntur homines, quod se liberos esse putant; quae opinio in hoc solo consistit, quod suarum actionum sint conscii et ignari causarum a quibus determinantur. Haec ergo est eorum libertatis idea, quod suarum actionum nullam cognoscant causam. Nam quod aiunt, humanas actiones a voluntate pendere, verba sunt, quorum nullam habent ideam."

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Added on April 10, 2026
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Philosophy
Original Language: English

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Men are mistaken in thinking themselves free; their opinion is made up of consciousness of their own actions, and ignorance of the causes by which they are conditioned. Their idea of freedom, therefore, is simply their ignorance of any cause for their actions. As for their saying that human actions depend on the will, this is a mere phrase without any idea to correspond thereto. — Baruch Spinoza, Ethics, Part 2, Prop. 35, Scholium (Dover 1955 pp. 108-109)