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Monday 21 March 2016

Alexander the Great (SLE): Personality Type Analysis

Alexander III of Macedon (a.k.a. 'Alexander the Great') was a Macedonian king and one of the most successful Ancient Greek military commanders in history. During the course of his military career, he became a cavalry commander at age 18, a king at 20, conquered the Persian empire at 26 and explored the Indian frontier at 30. Alexander's defeat of the Persian empire removed the blockade that had prevented the spread of Greek settlements into the East. Although no surviving evidence suggests that Alexander himself promoted a policy of Hellenization, his influence encouraged the spread of Greek culture into western Asia as a result of his conquests. His military conquests engulfed beyond Greece until it reached the Mesopotamian frontier, becoming a part of the Greek world for the very first time. This is one of many Alexander's most certain, yet unintended, historical achievements.

Alexander the Great was no doubt an inspiring leader and a brave soldier, he was very quick to assume the role of a leader naturally. Even in unfamiliar territory he was an extremely determined and competitive leader who presented a profound military genius and possessed a direct methodology for achieving his goals. Alexander asserted himself into the battlefield and commanded his army as to augment them towards his goals by influencing others through the usage of sheer willpower. His energetic and ambitious nature left him alternating between each goal that needed to be followed or completed to a teleological end. Similarly, he always took complete responsibility for his actions, since he strongly believed that a leader was very similar to a "lion" in that qualities such as impulsiveness and aggression are the traits of a true warrior. In addition, Alexander also led a very active lifestyle, always being on the move and tirelessly conquering every city, town and hamlet in western Asia name of Greece. This very ambitious and competitive nature of acquiring one's own wants paints a very clear picture of an individual with strong and valued F1.

Interestingly enough, Alexander had difficulty building relationships with other individuals one-on-one and outside the sphere of competition. He cared very little about building appropriate relationships and contacts with others, especially if it deviated from whatever Alexander wanted to possess or capture next. An example of this is within various quotes said to have been best describing Alexander the Great's lack of personal sensitivity. "Alexander saw the weak-willed and feeble minded as "sheep" and directly referred to them as such, only to show his intolerance towards those who have no ambition and care very little about meaningful or revolutionary causes. yet he behaved fairly and honestly towards those who exhibited courage and skill." The following mentioned about Alexander argues in favor of someone with little regard for R, with a much greater focus on leaving one's own mark on the world around them and wanting to passionately do revolutionary deeds without listening to the personal concerns or sentiments of others. As such, R4 is a good fit for Alexander the Great.

Most notably, Alexander the Great's best tactics were enacted as very active and impulsive that showed no sense of consistency or pervasive reason behind them. He wanted to travel and explore the known world not out of intellectual curiosity, but purely out of instinct to test his own limits and see how far his ambitions could possibly take him. Despite the rash leader that some individuals identify him as, Alexander was very open towards developing his mental capabilities and seeking a deeper meaning to life. His education through Aristotle opened him up to various sources of philosophical perspectives, esoteric messages and such concepts baffled him as he aggressively sought out answers. Alexander the Great was drawn to reflective and philosophical thought that laced his own goals with meaning and purpose. His mental quickness and lack of awareness towards the future consequences of his actions does in fact contribute to the idea of weak and valued T5.

His attitude of toughness and negligence towards the subjective perspectives was his Achilles heel that was an obstacle barricading his future goals. When there was something in the way of these his goals or opportunity to achieve praise and prestige, this would anger Alexander greatly to the point of behaving ruthlessly towards anyone who opposed him, even those within his own ranks. There was always a sense of overwhelming ambition and an uncontrollable temper within Alexander and he always sought to be accepted, feared and admired by everyone by becoming a military legend. He became very accustomed to the dynamic environment of free-expression and overtly motivating his men to action through encouraging one's own inner expression and. Alexander also catered towards large group environments with a common shared goal, yet he personally was not naturally adapted towards such sentimental environments and thus appeared insensitive and unfriendly around others as a result. The previously stated is quite in line with bold and weak E6, in wanting to create emotional environments that others can bathe in the glory of his achievements, yet failing to establish emotional connections and bonds with those seen as personally close to him.

The following of what has been mentioned about Alexander the Great clearly points towards F1, R4, T5, and E6. In conclusion, I believe Alexander the Great is a superb representative of the SLE type of information metabolism.

To learn more about SLE, click here.

If you are confused by our use of Socionics shorthand, click here.

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