Frontiers in psychology
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Frontiers in psychology · Jan 2018
ReviewIch kann nicht anders: Social Heroism as Nonselfsacrificial Practical Necessity.
Most self-reports of heroic action in both reactive and social (proactive) cases describe the experience as involving a kind of necessity. This seems intuitively sound, but it makes it unclear why heroism is accorded strong approbation. ⋯ This evinces a deep social bond, and it is this bond, rather than the action itself, that is the ground of approbation. (3) I then discuss how this construal of reactive heroism can be extended to cases of social heroism by way of a necessity that is internal to the agent's individual character. Similarly to reactive cases, a social hero literally embodies a certain ethical commitment such that her actions are likewise instances of nonselfsacrificial practical necessity. (4) I then discuss how the commitment perceived in cases of social heroism pertains to the actualization of "surplus validity," such that whereas the reactive hero is praised for embodying shared value, the social hero is praised for embodying a commitment to actualizing the concrete potential of such value more fully The approbation accorded to social heroism is therefore tied inextricably to a normative judgment concerning such immanent progressive transformation.
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Frontiers in psychology · Jan 2018
ReviewGoing Beyond the Data as the Patching (Sheaving) of Local Knowledge.
Consistently predicting outcomes in novel situations is colloquially called "going beyond the data," or "generalization." Going beyond the data features in spatial and non-spatial cognition, raising the question of whether such features have a common basis-a kind of systematicity of generalization. Here, we conceptualize this ability as the patching of local knowledge to obtain non-local (global) information. Tracking the passage from local to global properties is the purview of sheaf theory, a branch of mathematics at the nexus of algebra and geometry/topology. ⋯ In both cases, going beyond the data is obtained from a (universal) sheaf theory construction called "sheaving," i.e., the "patching" of local data attached to a topological space to obtain a representation considered as a globally coherent cognitive map. These results are discussed in the context of a previous (category theory) explanation for systematicity, vis-a-vis, categorical universal constructions, along with other cognitive domains where going beyond the data is apparent. Analogous to higher-order function (i.e., a function that takes/returns a function), going beyond the data as a higher-order systematicity property is explained by sheaving, a higher-order (categorical) universal construction.
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Frontiers in psychology · Jan 2018
ReviewWho Put the Super in Superhero? Transformation and Heroism as a Function of Evolution.
Transformation and heroism are reciprocally related. Transformation produces an individual that others may call hero; one who inspires, guides, and protects something precious-an ordinary extraordinary person, master of the self. Heroes exhibit the further reaches of human development by transforming into entirely new, resplendent individuals that demonstrate valuable capacities whiles still being mortal. ⋯ The progressive framework begins with a description of patterns of evolution salient to heroism and transformation; an exploration of four key "laws" that govern the realm of matter, which support and delimit the budding hero as an earth-bound human; and an examination of four "supernatural" abilities the initiate must cultivate and enact in order to transform. The heart of the paper is a detailed guide identifying when during the process of transformation, the initiate can expect to receive the support of natural processes, when to be vigilant for beyond nature or Divine intervention, and when to intervene with "supernatural" activities. The framework culminates with an elucidation of how the ordinary yet heroic individual becomes a superhero or transhuman as outlined by spiritual teacher Sri Aurobindo, through three transformations of biopsychosocial maturation and spiritual realization.