“Thought depends on the habitual exercise of the speculative faculties; action, on the determination of the will. The one assigns reasons for things, the other puts causes into act.”
Permalink: William Hazlitt
About this quote
Hazlitt separates the two faculties in an essay about why people think without acting. His point is practical rather than philosophical: reflection only produces reasons, and reasons have to be converted into causes before anything changes in the world.
Source: On Thought and Action