Full Idea
Men think themselves free because they are conscious of their volitions and their appetites, yet never give a thought to the causes which dispose them to desire or to exercise the will as they do, since they are wholly unaware of them.
Gist of Idea
We think we are free because we don't know the causes of our desires and choices
Source
Baruch de Spinoza (The Ethics [1675])
Book Reference
Cottingham,John: 'The Rationalists' [OUP 1988], p.160
A Reaction
This encapsulates the determinist idea nicely. In the end we just choose, but we have no idea why we prefer one reason to another, or simply opt for one thing rather than another.