Even before World War One, the desire to abolish the cycle of war was apparent in civilized society. This was made apparent by William James with his essay “The Moral Equivalent of War”. In his essay, James argues through anecdotes and multiple viewpoints that another method besides warfare should be used to advance civilization. James utilizes perspective throughout his essay to strengthen his argument through an ethos appeal. Throughout his work, he consistently acknowledges two parties: pacifists and advocates of war. James establishes himself as a man of logic when first addressing these sides as he says “I myself think it our bounden duty to believe in such international rationality as possible. But, as things stand, I see how desperately hard it is to bring the
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Interestingly, he presents his situation in a way that mirrors war; “If now...there were, instead of military conscription, a conscription of the whole youthful population to form for a certain number of years a part of the army enlisted against Nature, the injustice would tend to be evened out...to get the childishness knocked out of them, and to come back into society with healthier sympathies and soberer ideas. They would have paid their blood-tax, done their own part in the immemorial human warfare against nature; they would tread the earth more proudly, the women would value them more highly, they would be better fathers and teachers of the following generation” (54). Here, James suggests that society band together to combat “nature” rather than “military”. This proposal works because it acknowledges that conflict is necessary for unification, and thus redirects said conflict. This hypothetical serves as a pathos appeal because it suggests improvement in society. Knowing that people inherently seek to improve, and providing a method to do so, James strengthens his own
Interestingly, he presents his situation in a way that mirrors war; “If now...there were, instead of military conscription, a conscription of the whole youthful population to form for a certain number of years a part of the army enlisted against Nature, the injustice would tend to be evened out...to get the childishness knocked out of them, and to come back into society with healthier sympathies and soberer ideas. They would have paid their blood-tax, done their own part in the immemorial human warfare against nature; they would tread the earth more proudly, the women would value them more highly, they would be better fathers and teachers of the following generation” (54). Here, James suggests that society band together to combat “nature” rather than “military”. This proposal works because it acknowledges that conflict is necessary for unification, and thus redirects said conflict. This hypothetical serves as a pathos appeal because it suggests improvement in society. Knowing that people inherently seek to improve, and providing a method to do so, James strengthens his own