John Lewis Gaddis Quote
But what if Clausewitz and Tolstoy were wrestling with contradictions—perhaps even relishing the contest—rather than agonizing over them? 13 Both see determinism as laws to which there can be no exceptions: If even one man out of millions in a thousand-year period of time has had the possibility of acting freely, Tolstoy writes, then it is obvious that one free act of this man, contrary to the laws, destroys the possibility of the existence of any laws whatever for the whole of mankind. 14 Clausewitz agrees, with the qualification that if laws can’t contain the diversity of the real world, then the application of principle allows for a greater latitude of judgment. The proverb speaks of an exception to every rule, not to every law, suggesting that as abstractions approach reality, they permit a more liberal interpretation. 15 That would be consistent with Tolstoy, who seeks at such length to subvert all laws.
But what if Clausewitz and Tolstoy were wrestling with contradictions—perhaps even relishing the contest—rather than agonizing over them? 13 Both see determinism as laws to which there can be no exceptions: If even one man out of millions in a thousand-year period of time has had the possibility of acting freely, Tolstoy writes, then it is obvious that one free act of this man, contrary to the laws, destroys the possibility of the existence of any laws whatever for the whole of mankind. 14 Clausewitz agrees, with the qualification that if laws can’t contain the diversity of the real world, then the application of principle allows for a greater latitude of judgment. The proverb speaks of an exception to every rule, not to every law, suggesting that as abstractions approach reality, they permit a more liberal interpretation. 15 That would be consistent with Tolstoy, who seeks at such length to subvert all laws.
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