I. Introduction

There is a belief in psychology that individuals make category judgments by comparing new stimuli with instances already stored in memory. This is referred to as the Exemplar theory.

Typicality is an idea often associated with exemplar theory, where the best-fitting exemplars, or those sharing the most characteristics with other exemplars of the category, are considered typical and lead to quicker categorization of new stimuli that are similar to these typical exemplars. Typical exemplars are more likely to generate an accurate match when categorizing a new item. For example, when asked to generate a list of fruits, apples, oranges, and bananas will often come to mind first as they are considered more typical. Fruits such as starfruit or figs might appear on the list but require a more extensive search through memory.

A role model is a person looked to by others as an example to be imitated. When we say someone is an exemplar, we imply that this person serves as a typical example or excellent model. When the Sage (a philosophically wise person) looks for an example of a fundamental philosophical Sage to study and emulate, they typically search for a philosopher who has proven to be virtuous (morally good) in the ideology (the science of ideas) of ethical (concepts of right and wrong behavior) philosophy (relating to the study of knowledge, reality, and existence or wisdom). So, a plebian (barbaric) Sage seeks to understand the habitual virtues of a philosophical exemplar. In this website section, I examine the virtues of various well-known exemplars.