Further, what is involuntary, depends in part on
force and in part on ignorance. It depends on force when the
creative beginning in cause is from without, that is to say, when one
is forced by another without being at all persuaded, or when one does
not contribute to the act on one’s own impulse, or does not
co-operate at all, or do on one’s own account that which is
exacted by force Nemes.,
ch. 30.. Thus we
may give this definition: “An involuntary act is one in
which the beginning is from without, and where one does not contribute
at all on one’s own impulse to that which one is
forced.” And by beginning we mean the creative cause.
All involuntary act depends, on the other hand, on ignorance, when one
is not the cause of the ignorance one’s self, but events just so
happen. For, if one commits murder while drunk, it is an act of
ignorance, but yet not involuntary Ibid., ch.
31.: for
one was one’s self responsible for the cause of the ignorance,
that is to say, the drunkenness. But if while shooting at the
customary range one slew one’s father who happened to be passing
by, this would be termed an ignorant and involuntary act.