Pericles Metaphorical Reasoning

Strategy involves a collection of decisions. The most obvious decision occurs when the proper authority chooses a course of action. A host of other decisions however surround that choice: how to interpret and predict the decisions of others, how to disseminate and implement the plan, how to evaluate its progress and adapt to emerging contexts, and so on. The strategists who address these subsidiary decisions may lack final approval authority but their influence is still significant. Their deepest impact originates from the theoretical perspectives they use to analyze situations and to convey their recommendations to decision-makers. The impact of the specific theories applied and the nature of metaphorical reasoning in general should not be
A central component of their education was learning and reciting Homer’s epic poems, which provided practical lessons in morality and honed their oratory skills. Pericles’ own education was uniquely advanced thanks to tutors such as Anaxagoras of Clazomnae, who emphasized reason over tradition and developed a theory of the physical world based on the ordering principles of the mind. This became the philosophical foundation for Pericles’ political metaphor: instead of a dictator controlling a mechanical world, the proper image was a prime mover that inspired individuals towards a common civic endeavor. Additionally, according to Plutarch, Pericles also learned “a lofty spirit and an elevated mode of speech” from his teacher. Such presence enables a leader to persuasively convey his vision and gain the power to enact
The crux for a transformational figure is to inhabit enough of that shared mental model to be fluent with its perspective without being trapped by it. Additionally, paradigm changes tend to be cultivated by those who are less indoctrinated due to age or experience. Finally, such shifts are challenging because the existing metaphor already provides an efficient shortcut that yields sufficient answers with minimum cognitive effort. It literally helps “make sense” of a disorderly world and therefore paradigms persist, at least initially, despite anomalies and