What Is The Process Of Willing?

             In an impulse action, such as a sudden striking of his opponent by a man in rage, the strongest desire at the moment directly determines the action.  In the case of deliberate action there is a process of choice or willing between the desire and the action.  Deliberation and choice occur when two desires conflict; in the case of the man consciously striving to do what is right there may be two obligations which he desires to fulfil that can not both be fulfilled at the same time, or there may be a strong desire that is in conflict with the desire to do his duty.  

             The choice it self is a conative process, which is commonly proceeded by the intellectual act of making a judgement or series of judgements; it is when there is a series of judgements that we use the word deliberation.  In making a choice we are not merely judging which of our desires is the strongest, for to do so would often be a piece of introspective analysis which is beyond the capacity of the ordinary man or even of he skilled psychologist.  

             The first step then is willing is the judgement of the attractiveness of the end as compared to another and, we may ask, attractiveness to whom or to what part of the mind?  Our answer will vary will the degree to which the action is impulsive or the degree to which it is deliberate.