Will and Consciousness

In Spinoza's doctrine the Vital principle is the 'endeavor of something to persist in its being', with Will the Mental aspect of the endeavor.  Now, a significant feature of the endeavor is that it is "conscious". Thus, this Psychological dimension of his doctrine is apparently at odds with the long tradition, beginning with Leibniz, culminating with Freud, and thereafter popularized, according to which behavior is at least in part determined by subconscious or unconscious forces.  However, Spinoza would likely respond that such forces all have external sources, and, hence, are not ingredient in the Vital principle per se of the entity.  Likewise, an Emotion, contrary to some theories that glorify emotions, is not an expression of innermost character, but an effect of some external influence. Instead, it is only when behaving consciously, or, equivalently, when exercising Volition, or, equivalently, that one is self-activating, that, according to his doctrine, one is truly oneself.