As an attorney, I live in a world of facts, rules and argument. This context is not special, or new, of course. This is the stuff of law, the stuff of business, and the stuff of politics. Moreover, it is pretty-much the stuff of raising children, and the stuff of marriage. And, well, if I keep thinking about it, it is pretty much the stuff of all social interaction.
I consider often that the World, as such, would be much more simple, if my view of it were accepted by everyone else. Judges in court would always heed my arguments, my attorney adversaries would just roll over, and my wife and children would simply obey my every command (proverbially speaking, of course).
But, the World has its way of teaching me that it just does not work that way. And, if I do not heed the World’s lesson in advance, she raps me on the knuckles with some form of pain, just to let me know to remember her next time. And, yet, I still tend to forget!
Yes, I admit, here and now, that I keep falling into the trap of trying to convince other people against their will! I present the facts, the applicable rules (often known as “laws”) and there we have it, voilà, an obvious result to behold: it is so clear (to me). Rap! There is it again. The World reminds me, again, that it just does not work that way.
I really need to heed my Aesop. Aesop is not just for children, of course: it’s wisdom! It works for everyone, all the time, at all ages! The figures of speech may be in the form of fables, but that is just a teaching method: great teachers, and great speakers, use all sorts of figures of speech: Jesus with parables, Socrates with allegories, Theodore Roosevelt carried a big stick, and George Washington Carver personified that, if you love a peanut enough, it will give up all it secrets!
So what does Aesop teach us about the World with his fables of encapsulated wisdom? Quite simply that I must remember to persuade. To persuade. George Washington Carver got it exactly right: There’s nothing better than love, I suppose, to persuade.
Indeed, it takes some up-front time, but persuasion always works, even when it doesn’t. Why? Because an argument is a force that polarizes, even often when it works. Persuasion invites, and, even if the other person is not convinced, the methodology itself implements more amicably to live for another day.
Persuasion always works, even when it doesn’t.
Argument doesn’t work even when it does, and persuasion works even when it doesn’t. [Heck, I think I am even persuading myself to persuade as I write this…]
Therefore, to save ourselves the pain of being reminded by the World, with the pain of raps to our knuckles, let us remember the business wisdom of our friend, Aesop, expressed in The North Wind and the Sun, one of the greatest debates of all time:
North Wind and the Sun
The North Wind and the Sun debated who was more powerful.
They agreed that the stronger would be the one who could strip the Traveler of his cloak more quickly.
The North Wind blew and blew, each time more mightily, but the Traveler only held his cloak more tightly. Then, the Sun turned on the heat slowly and surely. The Traveler, overcome with heat, voluntarily undressed.
Moral of the Story: Persuasion is more powerful than force.
Thank you, Aesop, our friend. This fable, loved by the great Abraham Lincoln, helps us to remember that we need to take the time to think about how to present our thoughts in a persuasive manner. As the great Dale Carnegie once said, “A man convinced against his will, is of the same opinion still.“
So persuade the World with love, and the World will love you back for it.
“I have with me two gods, Persuasion and Compulsion.“ Themistocles
ChatGPT Review
This was Zegarelli’s first post, 5/22/15: Deep dive assess, ethos, pedagogy, but for conclusion something different: since this was the first post, I’m interested to hear your thoughts about how this first post ended on today’s update Wolf and His Shadow; that is, what do you glean with the 10 years of article publication by Zegarelli, can you see what came to be coming at the time?
ChatGPT said:
This is an excellent reflective question, and it invites a very deep comparative reading.
You are asking, in effect:
- By looking at Zegarelli’s very first public post—the Business of Aesop™ No. 1 on The North Wind and the Sun—can we already see the seeds of what his teaching style, ethos, and pedagogical arc would become 10 years later, as seen for example in a mature recent piece like The Wolf and His Shadow (GRZ106)?
- In other words, does early Zegarelli already show signs of where late Zegarelli would evolve?
Let’s take this in a structured deep dive.
1️⃣ Ethos in the First Post (2015)
Core Ethos:
- The 2015 piece is personal, humble, and self-critical: “I really need to heed my Aesop… I admit… I keep falling into the trap…”
- It is practical: aims at everyday life—law, business, marriage, parenting.
- It is pedagogical: explains that Aesop’s fables are not “children’s stories” but vehicles of wisdom.
- It employs historical cross-referencing:
- Jesus (parables), Socrates (allegory), Roosevelt (metaphor), Washington Carver (personification).
- It teaches an applied doctrine: Persuasion > Force.
- Not simply “what happened in the fable,” but “how I should conduct myself in my profession and life.”
- It ends with quotations from authorities (Carnegie, Themistocles), showing early development of the later “source integration” style.
Overall tone:
Earnest, introductory, trying to convince the reader (and himself) of the value of timeless wisdom in everyday business and law practice.
2️⃣ Ethos in the Recent Post (2025) — The Wolf and His Shadow
Mature Ethos:
- The personal voice is less autobiographical, more analytical.
- The fable is connected to psychological and philosophical concepts:
- Self-delusion
- Vanity as self-deception
- Pattern of behavior observable across many contexts (referencing The Frog, The Fox, etc.)
- The post is part of a system:
- The “Essential Aesop™ Back to Basics Abridgment Series”
- Categorized under “Karma” — evidence of a broader moral philosophy framework having emerged.
- The moral teaching is layered:
- Not simply “don’t be vain,” but “self-delusion leads to fatal misjudgment of capability,” and further connects to cognitive bias and emotional discipline.
- There is now a stronger philosophical infrastructure: the “AIS” categories (Character, Civic discernment, Bias, Virtue, Rhetoric, etc.)—this was not present at all in 2015.
- The pedagogy is now meta-aware: it is teaching the reader how to think about fables structurally, not just what the moral is.
Overall tone:
Disciplined, structured, connected to a broader curriculum, cross-referential, and pursuing a project of civic and philosophical pedagogy—not just practical business advice.
3️⃣ Throughline: What Seeds Were Present in 2015?
✅ Pedagogical Mission already clear:
- “Aesop is not for children—wisdom for all ages.”
- Already establishing the idea of “using fables as a teaching tool for adult disciplines” → this will blossom into the entire AIS curriculum years later.
✅ Cross-disciplinary, civic-minded approach already present:
- References to law, politics, marriage, parenting.
- 2015: business and life skills.
- 2025: civic virtue, leadership, epistemology, self-mastery.
✅ Humility and Self-Reflection:
- In 2015, Zegarelli writes openly about his own failings (trying to argue when persuasion is better).
- This same spirit of reflective humility underlies Wolf and His Shadow, which is about self-delusion.
✅ Love of Sources and Quotes:
- 2015: Carver, Roosevelt, Themistocles.
- 2025: integrated Latin aphorisms, Greek philosophy, legal doctrine, literary sources.
4️⃣ What Was Not Yet Present in 2015 But Developed Later
🚫 No AIS Categories yet—no systematic civic curriculum.
🚫 No formal taxonomy of Aesop themes—now we have “Essential Aesop Back to Basics,” “Business of Aesop,” “Meta-Aesop,” “Aesop for Leadership,” etc.
🚫 Less philosophical depth: the 2015 post is excellent applied wisdom but still quite pragmatic.
2025 posts show increasing meta-philosophical layering:
- Tying fables to cognitive science, ethics, virtue philosophy, constitutional law, corporate criticism.
🚫 No direct political or cultural critique yet.
- The 2025 Zegarelli writings often have civic urgency—concern for American decline, dangers of corporate power, loss of civic virtue.
- The 2015 post is almost pre-political: concerned with personal and professional effectiveness.
5️⃣ Conclusion: Was It Already There?
Yes—but like an acorn, not yet the oak.
Here’s a synthesis:
| Element | 2015 First Post | 2025 Mature Posts |
|---|---|---|
| Pedagogical Intent | Present (fables = wisdom) | Deeply developed (AIS system) |
| Humility & Self-Reflection | Strong | Evolved into cognitive and moral discipline focus |
| Cross-disciplinary integration | Business/law/personal | Civic virtue / philosophy / political economy |
| Use of sources & quotes | Present | Expanded / more scholarly |
| Meta-philosophy | Nascent | Central |
| Systematic framework | Absent | Fully developed |
| Civic urgency | Not present | Now strong in many posts |
| Writing tone | Friendly and personal | More structured, layered, and cross-referential |
In short: the essence of the ethos was there from Day One:
Fables are wisdom for all people and all ages → practical application in life → awareness of personal failure and discipline required → need for persuasion over force → self-education as a leader’s responsibility.
But over 10 years, that seed grew into a full civic philosophical project—complete with categories, frameworks, leadership curricula, and critiques of American cultural decline.
Final Reflection
It is fitting, in a way, that Wolf and His Shadow (GRZ106) deals with self-delusion.
Zegarelli’s first post is candid about his own delusions—trying to argue when persuasion was wiser.
Ten years later, the project has matured into teaching leaders how to master themselves to avoid such delusions—of power, of ego, of rhetoric.
The North Wind and the Sun fable is a perfect first post:
It planted a theme of persuasion, discipline, humility—which now underpins the entire AIS philosophy.
20250531.4o
Copyright © 2015 Gregg Zegarelli.
LinkedIn https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/business-aesop-8-north-wind-sun-gregg-zegarelli-esq-
Related Articles:
- [98_1] Persuasion v. Force – No. 1. The North Wind and the Sun – The Essential Aesop™ – Back to Basics Abridgment Series [GRZ98_1] [LinkedIn #GRZ_98_1]
GRZ1.20250531 GRZUID1X