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?
