What Makes a Hero?

June 17, 2013
“Can you—can any ordinary person—learn to build on your natural biological endowments to turn yourself into a model of selflessness and service to others?” Svoboda’s question is straightforward, but the path to an answer winds from evolutionary biology and neuroscience to educational philosophy and psychology via anecdote and personal reflection. But while the journo makes some interesting points, there is nothing particularly new here. She summarizes the basic evolutionary explanation for altruism and describes some of the classic relevant neuroscience work; her two main points are that a selfless attitude can be cultivated through practice, and that learning about evil and kindness can prepare people to act heroically when opportunities present themselves. However, Svoboda presents little hard data to support her position, relying instead on anecdotes, interpretations of past studies, and personal experiences, such as having an MRI scan, attending a “Real Life Superheroes” gathering in New York City, and handing out small care packages to homeless people in San Francisco. (Purple prose doesn’t help, either: “Offered a meager gift and a little kindness, people the world had written off as hopeless opened up the way parched blooms do after a few drops of rain.”) Agent: Joe Veltre, Gersh Agency.