War and Peace, Part 2: Second Epilogue, Chapter 5 summary
Part 2: Second Epilogue, Chapter 5 of 365 · 5 min to read the chapter
In Chapter 5, the narrator challenges the claim that rulers receive the collective will of nations, arguing that this theory merely restates the problem of historical power. He defines power as a relationship between commands and their execution, requiring attention to time and the connection between commanders and those who obey.
What happens
- The narrator argues that no established connection makes the lives of a few leaders explain the lives of nations.
- A comparison with a cattle herd exposes three kinds of historical explanation based on transferred collective will.
- The narrator calls these explanations circular but insists that experience confirms power as a real phenomenon.
- Examples of rulers issuing orders show a connection between commands and events, without proving that commands cause those events.
- The argument defines power through commands and their execution, then identifies time and human relationships as necessary conditions for explanation.
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Quick check
Which two conditions does the narrator require for explaining commands and events?
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