Summary
Tolstoy uses the metaphor of a locomotive to explore how we explain historical events. Just as a peasant might say the devil moves a train, while others point to wheels or smoke, historians often give incomplete explanations for why nations go to war or leaders rise to power. Some credit individual heroes like Napoleon, others blame abstract forces, but none capture the full picture. Tolstoy argues that most historical writing is like paper money—it works fine until someone asks what backs it up. When we dig deeper and ask 'What really caused this?' many historical explanations fall apart. The chapter reveals how historians often avoid the fundamental question of what power actually is and how it works. Instead, they offer partial explanations that sound sophisticated but don't hold up under scrutiny. This connects to the novel's larger theme about understanding the real forces that shape our lives. Just as Pierre and Natasha had to look beyond surface appearances to find meaning, we must look beyond simple explanations to understand complex events. The chapter challenges readers to think more critically about the stories we're told about why things happen, whether in history books or in our own lives.
Coming Up in Chapter 357
Tolstoy continues his philosophical examination of power and historical forces, building toward his final conclusions about what really drives human events and individual destinies.
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An excerpt from the original text.(~500 words)
A locomotive is moving. Someone asks: “What moves it?” A peasant says the devil moves it. Another man says the locomotive moves because its wheels go round. A third asserts that the cause of its movement lies in the smoke which the wind carries away. The peasant is irrefutable. He has devised a complete explanation. To refute him someone would have to prove to him that there is no devil, or another peasant would have to explain to him that it is not the devil but a German, who moves the locomotive. Only then, as a result of the contradiction, will they see that they are both wrong. But the man who says that the movement of the wheels is the cause refutes himself, for having once begun to analyze he ought to go on and explain further why the wheels go round; and till he has reached the ultimate cause of the movement of the locomotive in the pressure of steam in the boiler, he has no right to stop in his search for the cause. The man who explains the movement of the locomotive by the smoke that is carried back has noticed that the wheels do not supply an explanation and has taken the first sign that occurs to him and in his turn has offered that as an explanation. The only conception that can explain the movement of the locomotive is that of a force commensurate with the movement observed. The only conception that can explain the movement of the peoples is that of some force commensurate with the whole movement of the peoples. Yet to supply this conception various historians take forces of different kinds, all of which are incommensurate with the movement observed. Some see it as a force directly inherent in heroes, as the peasant sees the devil in the locomotive; others as a force resulting from several other forces, like the movement of the wheels; others again as an intellectual influence, like the smoke that is blown away. So long as histories are written of separate individuals, whether Caesars, Alexanders, Luthers, or Voltaires, and not the histories of all, absolutely all those who take part in an event, it is quite impossible to describe the movement of humanity without the conception of a force compelling men to direct their activity toward a certain end. And the only such conception known to historians is that of power. This conception is the one handle by means of which the material of history, as at present expounded, can be dealt with, and anyone who breaks that handle off, as Buckle did, without finding some other method of treating historical material, merely deprives himself of the one possible way of dealing with it. The necessity of the conception of power as an explanation of historical events is best demonstrated by the universal historians and historians of culture themselves, for they professedly reject that conception but inevitably have recourse to it at every step. In dealing with...
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Intelligence Amplifier™ Analysis
The Road of Simple Explanations - Why We Accept Easy Answers for Complex Problems
Our tendency to assign single causes to complex problems because it feels more manageable and controllable than examining multiple contributing factors.
Why This Matters
Connect literature to life
This chapter teaches how to recognize when explanations are incomplete and how to build more accurate understanding of complex situations.
Practice This Today
This week, notice when you or others blame one person or cause for a complex problem, then ask 'What else might be contributing?' before deciding how to respond.
Now let's explore the literary elements.
Terms to Know
Historical causation
The idea that events in history have clear, identifiable causes that led to specific outcomes. Tolstoy argues this is often oversimplified - like saying a train moves because of its wheels without asking what makes the wheels turn.
Modern Usage:
We see this when people blame complex problems on single causes, like saying crime is caused by poverty without looking at all the other factors involved.
Reductionism
Breaking down complex situations into overly simple explanations. The peasant saying the devil moves the locomotive is reductionist - it's a complete answer that avoids deeper investigation.
Modern Usage:
Politicians do this when they promise simple solutions to complicated problems, or when we blame relationship issues on just one person's behavior.
Ultimate cause
The deepest, most fundamental reason something happens. Tolstoy suggests most people stop looking for causes too early, like explaining the train by its wheels instead of digging down to the steam pressure.
Modern Usage:
In therapy or conflict resolution, we try to find the ultimate cause of problems rather than just treating symptoms.
Force commensurate
A power or energy that matches the size of the effect it produces. Tolstoy argues that to move something as big as history, you need a force as big as history itself.
Modern Usage:
We use this thinking when we realize that major life changes require major effort, not just small adjustments.
Paper money explanation
An explanation that works fine on the surface but has nothing solid backing it up, like paper money without gold reserves. It collapses when you examine it closely.
Modern Usage:
Corporate buzzwords and political slogans often work like this - they sound good until you ask what they actually mean.
Circular reasoning
Using your conclusion as your evidence, like saying the wheels move the train because the train moves. You end up where you started without really explaining anything.
Modern Usage:
This happens when people say they're successful because they're winners, or they're right because they're always right.
Characters in This Chapter
The peasant
representative of folk wisdom
Represents people who create complete but simple explanations for complex phenomena. His devil theory can't be easily disproven because it's self-contained and doesn't invite further questioning.
Modern Equivalent:
The coworker who has a conspiracy theory for everything
The mechanical explainer
representative of partial scientific thinking
Represents people who give technical explanations that sound smart but don't go deep enough. He stops at the wheels instead of asking what powers the wheels.
Modern Equivalent:
The person who explains everything with surface-level facts but misses the bigger picture
The smoke observer
representative of correlation-based thinking
Represents people who notice patterns but confuse correlation with causation. He sees smoke and movement happening together and assumes one causes the other.
Modern Equivalent:
The person who thinks ice cream causes drowning because both increase in summer
Key Quotes & Analysis
"The peasant is irrefutable. He has devised a complete explanation."
Context: Tolstoy explains why simple explanations are hard to argue against
This reveals how the most basic explanations can be the hardest to challenge because they don't invite questions. The peasant's devil theory is complete - it explains everything and requires no further investigation.
In Today's Words:
Sometimes the simplest answer shuts down all discussion, even when it's wrong.
"The only conception that can explain the movement of the locomotive is that of a force commensurate with the movement observed."
Context: Tolstoy argues that big effects need big causes
This is Tolstoy's key point about historical explanation - you need causes that match the size of their effects. Small, individual actions can't explain massive historical movements.
In Today's Words:
Big changes need big reasons behind them.
"Having once begun to analyze he ought to go on and explain further why the wheels go round."
Context: Critiquing the person who stops at a surface explanation
Tolstoy shows how real analysis requires going deeper and deeper. Once you start asking 'why,' you have to keep asking until you reach the fundamental cause.
In Today's Words:
If you're going to ask why something happens, you need to keep digging until you find the real answer.
Thematic Threads
Power
In This Chapter
Tolstoy questions what power really is and how it actually works, showing how historians avoid examining its true nature
Development
Evolved from earlier scenes of Napoleon's declining influence to this philosophical examination of power's mechanisms
In Your Life:
You might see this when trying to understand why certain people have influence at your workplace while others don't, despite similar qualifications.
Truth
In This Chapter
Historical explanations are compared to paper money - they work until someone asks what backs them up
Development
Builds on Pierre's spiritual journey toward authentic truth versus social conventions
In Your Life:
You experience this when family stories about why certain relatives behave certain ways fall apart under closer examination.
Class
In This Chapter
The peasant's explanation of the locomotive is dismissed as ignorant, yet educated explanations are equally incomplete
Development
Continues the novel's critique of how social position affects whose knowledge is valued
In Your Life:
You see this when your practical experience as a healthcare worker is dismissed by administrators with business degrees but no patient contact.
Identity
In This Chapter
Historians create professional identity by offering explanations, even when those explanations are fundamentally flawed
Development
Connects to characters throughout who define themselves through roles that may not reflect reality
In Your Life:
You might recognize this in how you maintain your professional identity by appearing knowledgeable even when uncertain.
You now have the context. Time to form your own thoughts.
Discussion Questions
- 1
What does Tolstoy mean when he compares historical explanations to a peasant saying the devil moves a train?
analysis • surface - 2
Why does Tolstoy argue that most historical explanations are like paper money that loses value when examined closely?
analysis • medium - 3
Think about a recent conflict at work or in your family. What simple explanation did people give for what happened? What other factors might have contributed?
application • medium - 4
When someone offers you a simple explanation for a complex problem in your life, how can you tell if it's helpful or incomplete?
application • deep - 5
What does our need for simple explanations reveal about how we handle uncertainty and complexity?
reflection • deep
Critical Thinking Exercise
Map the Real Causes
Think of a recent problem in your life that you initially blamed on one person or one event. Draw a simple diagram with that problem in the center. Around it, list at least five different factors that might have contributed - including your own actions, timing, circumstances, and other people's perspectives. Look for patterns you hadn't noticed before.
Consider:
- •Include factors you can control and factors you cannot control
- •Consider how different people involved might tell this story differently
- •Look for warning signs you might have missed at the time
Journaling Prompt
Write about a time when you realized a problem in your life was more complicated than you first thought. How did seeing the fuller picture change how you handled similar situations later?
Coming Up Next...
Chapter 357: The Problem of Power
The coming pages reveal simple explanations for authority often fall apart under scrutiny, and teach us to recognize when experts use vague concepts to avoid hard questions. These discoveries help us navigate similar situations in our own lives.