Donald Robertson : “The ancients conceived of the ideal philosopher as a veritable warrior of the mind, a spiritual hero akin to Hercules himself, but since the demise of the Hellenistic schools, the philosopher has become something more bookish, not a warrior, but a mere librarian of the mind.” The warrior vs. librarian metaphor

Donald

Robertson writes:

“The ancients conceived of the ideal philosopher as a veritable warrior of the mind, a

spiritual hero akin to Hercules himself, but since the demise of the Hellenistic schools, the

philosopher has become something more bookish, not a warrior, but a mere librarian of the

mind.”

The warrior vs. librarian metaphor

Henry Ford quote: “Whether you think you can, or you

think you can’t, you’re right”?

The Happiness Hypothesis (5), Jonathan Haidt presents an

excellent analogy for these two systems — a human rider on top of an

elephant.

The rider represents the rational system; the part of us that plans and

problem-solves. And the elephant represents the emotional system; the

part of us that provide power for the journey