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Heroism
- Thread starter Minnow
- Start date
Abwayax
Wake me up before you Gogoat
- Pronoun
- he
Heroes are people who put others before themselves.
The biggest examples are the dramatic ones like firefighters and policemen, but one doesn't necessarily have to put oneself in danger to be a hero. I consider teachers to be heroes, given what they have to deal with and the importance of education in a functioning society.
The biggest examples are the dramatic ones like firefighters and policemen, but one doesn't necessarily have to put oneself in danger to be a hero. I consider teachers to be heroes, given what they have to deal with and the importance of education in a functioning society.
- Pronoun
- she/her
I think Philip Zimbardo's definition of a heroism as doing compassionate things in a situation where ordinary people wouldn't has a lot of merit. I've never liked the idea of defining people in certain occupations as heroes by default; it seems too easy if becoming a hero is just a matter of getting this job.
So if you step forward to help somebody who is being assaulted when a bunch of other people are simply standing there staring because of the bystander effect? That's heroism - you're in a situation where the normal thing to do - bizarrely enough - is to not help, but you do it anyway. If you're a cop or a firefighter simply doing what a cop or a firefighter is expected to do, you're still just operating within the system, doing what anyone in your situation would be doing - but if you go above and beyond what's expected of you in the job, that's when your actions become heroic.
Many other situations positively expect people to 'put others before themselves' - if a close family member needs a new kidney and you're the only close match, there is a clear societal pressure to do it. Doing as expected in such situations does not strike me as heroic (though it is obviously a personal sacrifice).
So if you step forward to help somebody who is being assaulted when a bunch of other people are simply standing there staring because of the bystander effect? That's heroism - you're in a situation where the normal thing to do - bizarrely enough - is to not help, but you do it anyway. If you're a cop or a firefighter simply doing what a cop or a firefighter is expected to do, you're still just operating within the system, doing what anyone in your situation would be doing - but if you go above and beyond what's expected of you in the job, that's when your actions become heroic.
Many other situations positively expect people to 'put others before themselves' - if a close family member needs a new kidney and you're the only close match, there is a clear societal pressure to do it. Doing as expected in such situations does not strike me as heroic (though it is obviously a personal sacrifice).
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