BernsteinArticle

THE PHILOSOPHICAL FOUNDATIONS OF HEROISM

By Dr. Andrew Bernstein

Bernstein defines whom we would generally give the title of “Hero”. This makes me think of all the books I have read recently. The first name that came to mind was “Yossarian” However; I would not define his struggles with staying alive by going to the hospital as heroic. I think he had a flaw that made him relatable. The idea of heroes, such as Achilles having a susceptible heal, makes me think that the fictional heroes like batman, superman, etc have a fatal flaw that shows they have some human quality to them. Superman’s weakness was Kryptonite and batman had no parents. I think some of these qualities are meant to serve as an example showing that; Hero’s as well have struggles, internally or externally. Another example of a Hero of sorts would be Hamlet. Yes, by being mad he in one way or another, he was able to remove Claudius from the throne. But his fatal flaw was the ability to think in great depth about his actions and not be able to act on them. I fell that we occasionally have his mindset about things: we know how to give other people advice about what to do about their problems and yet cannot always figure out what to do about ours.

            A major idea I got from this reading was the question of defining heroism. Are there qualitative or quantitative measures of one’s heroism? I should think so. The military defines heroism with two examples, a Purple Heart, and a Medal of Honor. These two elicit quantitative requirements.

            There is a distinction made between intellectual and physical heroes’. Ayn Rand is an intellectual for her perseverance in maintaining her philosophy of Objectivism. I have only read some of her work on the theory. I like the idea of turning a metaphysical idea into a physical form such as art.

            The idea of a person reaching the zenith of human morality seems to parallel someone attaining nirvana. I would call this idea crap other than the fact that a definition is given “an undeviating commitment to rational values, in action, in the teeth of opposition that would dismay a lesser man.”Morality is subjective to the person interpreting its meaning.  Hitler is referenced in the article. Hitler had his own view of morality I am assuming. The definition gives the term a criterion.

            The article was interesting in the fact that it tried to dissect the whole concept of heroism. I think that there are varying levels of heroism. Particularly in defining how one is deemed heroic.

            There is much more that can be added to the topic. The most striking feature of the intellectual hero is the concept of standing on the shoulders of giants, but not just any giants: intellectual giants. The most defining idea of physical heroes is their perseverance to overcome all obstacles.