Clausewitz availed himself of the physics and mathematics terminology of his time, some of which addressed problems of simplicity with Newtonian concepts, while some treated problems of disorganized complexity with new tools of probability calculation. These idealizations did not capture what Clausewitz saw as the essential features of war and a theory of war, so he also incorporated terms and ideas from the emerging fields of chemistry and biology. Today, we would say he was grappling with problems of organized complexity.
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