337 © Springer International Publishing Switzerland 2016 J. Vittersø (ed.), Handbook of Eudaimonic Well-Being, International Handbooks of Quality-of-Life, DOI 10.1007/978-3-319-42445-3_22 Heroism and Eudaimonia: Sublime Actualization Through the Embodiment of Virtue Zeno E. Franco, Olivia Efthimiou, and Philip G. Zimbardo 22.1 Introduction The notion of heroism as a virtuous existence endures in contemporary empirical studies of the phenomenon; “Heroism represents the ideal of citizens transforming civic virtue into the highest form of civic action, accepting either physical peril or social sacrifice” (Franco, Blau, and Zimbardo, 2011, p. 99). Anderson (1986, p. 592) observed that popular definitions of heroism cen- tre around the notion of ideals such as “great bravery, daring, boldness, valor”, including “vir- tue”. Building on prior extensive work on moral exemplars Walker and Frimer (2008) explores “transcendence in the lives of moral heroes”. Staats, Hupp, and Hugley (2008, p. 370) argue: “Heroism is a virtue in search of empirical mea- surement, not only with regard to persons and situations but also with regard to enabling and inhibiting factors (Peterson & Seligman, 2004)”. The stories of heroism and heroic virtue that sur- mount national and world-wide crises are telling of the enduring relevance of these ancient ideals in our contemporary society. The study of well-being and optimal human functioning has been a growing central pre- occupation of research on human behaviour since the mid twentieth century. The past decade espe- cially has witnessed a surge in research on hero- ism and heroic leadership. The reinstatement and recognition of the importance of heroism in the twenty first century is significant in terms of redefining our concept of well-being in contem- porary culture. Introducing the concept of the “banality of heroism” (Franco & Zimbardo, 2006) escalates its centrality in everyday life, suggesting a transition toward a system of thought in which everyone is a potential hero. For exam- ple, a recent study conducted by Igou, Ritchie, and Kinsella (2012) highlighted “the importance of heroism in everyday life”. This study acknowl- edges the wide-reaching effects of the phenome- non across the spectrum of human experience: “The term hero is universal and understood to provide important physical, psychological, and social benefits to people” (Kinsella, 2013, p. 1). We argue here that the grounding of heroic action in the everyday and the universal should drive the phenomenological conceptualisation of heroic eudaimonia as timeless phronetic wisdom Z.E. Franco (*) Department of Family and Community Medicine, Clinical and Translational Science Institute, Medical College of Wisconsin, 8701 Watertown Plank Road, 26509, Milwaukee, Wisconsin, USA e-mail: zfranco@mcw.edu O. Efthimiou Murdoch University, Perth, Western Australia, Australia e-mail: oliviaefi@gmail.com P.G. Zimbardo Stanford University, Stanford, CA, USA e-mail: drzimbardo@gmail.com 22