The best explanation & convergence of these two distinct philosophies of ascertaining the Self, the one of free-will of the Western world and that of Self-Effort of the East, is found in the gospels of non-duality philosophers. I have found relevance to this in talks & lessons from Sri Ramakrishna & Ramana Maharshi. I will make an attempt to note it here for my own understanding.
I should also reference the attempts by modern scientists & philosophers to analyse this premise more scientifically & methodically. The notable of them is the Libet Experiment. (The name comes from the research done by the American neuroscientist Benjamin Libet, showing that the way we experience decision-making is misleading.) There are subsequent analysis in Scientific American disproving the methods and the interpretations of the experiments.
For a true seeker, or a spiritual aspirant, the answer, whether it leans in favor of one or the other, is probably redundant. Because an aspirant is not interested in an intellectual elevation. A seeker will seek out the truth. With that in mind, the Eastern gospels accepts both and rejects both at the same time. Because they could converge them in two paths that would eventually lead to the same goals.
The following aphorism is quoted from the Gospel of Sri Ramakrishna. This is how the story goes. First the story and then the interpretation.
A baby monkey will jump all around all day, sometimes playfully & oftentimes in an effort to fend for itself. When it faces a serious danger it runs wildly all over trying to find its mother. Sometimes it finds the mother and thus saves itself from the adversaries while many unfortunate ones never make it close to its mother & perishes in an attempt.
A kitten on the other hand appears to be nonchalant about its whereabouts. It stays put where its mother keeps and when in need mews for the mother without moving an inch. The mother, wherever she is, drops what she was doing & rushes to care for her babies. If there is danger, she picks them up in her jaws & carries them to a safe place. Otherwise, she would bring food to the hungry babies.
The ones among us who have a materialist bend of mind, like the monkey-baby, will put in their effort in amassing materialistic wealth & leave the work required for God-consciousness to the higher spirits. In this way, ones failure to achieve realization becomes a failure of the high consciousness.
While the sages, monks and those who have renounced materialism in favor of God-consciousness, like the kitten, will put in all their effort in remaining in isolation while training their mind, body & soul to realize the ultimate truth while leaving responsibilities of proving with the bare material necessities of food, shelter & clothing to the high spirits.
The Eastern philosophy does not prefer one over the other. It simple says that one should take that path which best aligns to the individual’s nature & propensities. Therein lies the art of converging two apparently contradicting approach into one meaningful path.