“Part of what we want to do with the Heroic Imagination Project is to get kids to think about what it means to be a hero. The most basic concept of a hero is socially constructed: It differs from culture to culture and changes over time. Think of Christopher Columbus. Until recently, he was a hero. Now he's a genocidal murderer! If he were alive today, he'd say, "What happened? I used to be a hero, and now people are throwing tomatoes at me!” PeopleIfsThinkingWantMeanKidsTodayUsedCultureImaginationAliveHappenedHeroProjectsConceptsUsed To BeThrowingHeroicMurdererLive For TodayTomatoesColumbusChanges Over Time Author:Philip Zimbardo
“Heroes are those who can somehow resist the power of the situation and act out of noble motives, or behave in ways that do not demean others when they easily can.” WaySituationPowerHeroNobleBehaveMotiveHeroicSocial Psychology Author:Philip Zimbardo
“The line between good and evil is permeable and almost anyone can be induced to cross it when pressured by situational forces.” EvilForceLinesHeroCrossesGood And EvilHeroicSocial PsychologyPressured Author:Philip Zimbardo
“I have been primarily interested in how and why ordinary people do unusual things, things that seem alien to their natures. Why do good people sometimes act evil? Why do smart people sometimes do dumb or irrational things?” PeopleHas BeensSometimesSeemsEvilHeroSmartOrdinaryAliensDumbGood PeopleUnusualHeroicIrrationalOrdinary PeopleSocial PsychologySmart PeopleUnusual Things Author:Philip Zimbardo
“Evil is knowing better, but willingly doing worse.” EvilKnowingHeroHeroicKnowing Better Author:Philip Zimbardo
“Situational variables can exert powerful influences over human behavior, more so that we recognize or acknowledge.” HumansPowerfulInfluenceHeroBehaviorAcknowledgeHeroicHuman BehaviorVariablesSocial Psychology Author:Philip Zimbardo
“One can't live mindfully without being enmeshed in psychological processes that are around us.” ProcessHeroPsychologicalHeroic Author:Philip Zimbardo
“... In contrast to the "banality of evil," which posits that ordinary people can be responsible for the most despicable acts of cruelty and degradation of their fellows, I posit the "banality of heroism," which unfurls the banner of the heroic Everyman and Everywoman who heed the call to service to humanity when their time comes to act. When that bell rings, they will know that it rings for them. It sounds a call to uphold what is best in human nature that rises above the powerful pressures of Situation and System as the profound assertion of human dignity opposing evil.” PeopleKnowsHumansHumanityEvilSoundPowerfulSituationHuman NatureHeroOrdinaryDignityPressureResponsibleFellowsProfoundRingsCrueltyHeroicContrastBellsHeroismOrdinary PeopleRise AboveAssertionOpposingHeedDegradationBeing ResponsibleHuman DignityBannerDespicableService To HumanityBanalityEveryman Author:Philip Zimbardo
