The same problem is addressed by philosophers whose account of the antecedents of action focus on the notion of desire, and who move away from the old view that actions result from a struggle between reason and passion. Foremost among these authors are Hobbes and Spinoza, who offer novel interpretations of deliberation and psychological conflict. Their controversial view that a volition is not a distinct kind of thought is contested, e.g. by Bramhall, and in a different way by Locke. However, they mark a transition to a new understanding of the passive and active aspects of the mind and a new...

The same problem is addressed by philosophers whose account of the antecedents of action focus on the notion of desire, and who move away from the old view that actions result from a struggle between reason and passion. Foremost among these authors are Hobbes and Spinoza, who offer novel interpretations of deliberation and psychological conflict. Their controversial view that a volition is not a distinct kind of thought is contested, e.g. by Bramhall, and in a different way by Locke. However, they mark a transition to a new understanding of the passive and active aspects of the mind and a new interpretation of desire and its relation to action.