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Phenomenology of Blackout Rage
DOI link for Phenomenology of Blackout Rage
Phenomenology of Blackout Rage book
Phenomenology of Blackout Rage
DOI link for Phenomenology of Blackout Rage
Phenomenology of Blackout Rage book
ABSTRACT
In this paper, we explore the perceptual-motor effects and possible episodic memory inhibition in extreme cases of the ‘berserker rage.’ We first locate berserker rages in a taxonomy of aggressive behavior as out-of-control reactive aggression triggered by blocked flight in a high-danger situation. We then sketch its military implications, and present a plausible neurological substrate, as well as locate it in relation to the ‘Human Self-Domestication Hypothesis’ currently being worked out at the intersection of anthropology and biological psychology. We then zero in on the most extreme manifestations, the so-called ‘blackout rages’ – or in technical terms, ‘Transient Global Amnesia’ (TGA) – in which episodic memory is inhibited or attenuated, but there is retention of affective-charged sensory fragments. Here we have two objectives: first, we will present the most recent research on the neuropsychological mechanisms at work producing TGA; second, we will work out its phenomenological implications, using discourse analysis of the first-person reports of berserkers in interviews. What exactly are we to say about an ‘experience’ of which we have only a partial ability to reconstruct, and even then, the use of ‘flipping a switch’ or ‘automatic pilot’ are prevalent terms in those reconstructions?