The ignoble steed always craves more of this attention-catching information. In this current situation, for most people, the constant monitoring of online news about the virus is providing pure fuel to the ignoble steed, dragging the allegorical chariot away from what’s good and awe-inspiring about life - even during turmoil - and toward bottom-less anxiety and pseudo-paralysis. I’m bringing this up now because it occurred to me that these ideas have probably never been more relevant than amidst the anxiety caused by the coronavirus pandemic. The maximalist, by contrast, deploys technology casually, allowing it to immeasurably boost the strength of the other horse. The minimalist, I argue, deploys technology in specific, intentional ways with the goal of empowering the noble steed. In Digital Minimalism, I use this allegory to help understand how to navigate both the promises and perils of modern technology. This task requires the charioteer to allow the noble steed, representing our moral intuitions, to lead the way, while preventing its ignoble partner, representing our base instincts, from drawing the soul off course.

“he charioteer of the human soul drives a pair, and secondly one of the horses is noble and of noble breed, but the other quite the opposite in breed and character.”Īs elaborated by the character of Socrates in the dialogue, the charioteer represents our soul’s reasoned pursuit to cultivate a worthy life. One of the more profound representations of the soul in the Western Canon is the Chariot Allegory from Plato’s Phaedrus dialogue :

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