> at their core, performative quests for such transcendence
That sounds like a middlebrow dismissal of what these groups are. I think you can describe them with more tangible psychological/philosophical motivations which I don't find useful to describe as "transcendence" e.g.
- belonging : the appeal of the gang, the cult is to find acceptance, your tribe, your family. If life has thrown you to the curb and vulnerable, such organisations will take you in.
- guru syndrome : the search for a paternal figure to structure and make sense of the world, to surrender to, to love, to give devotion, to follow, no matter the path
- meaning : a thirst, an existential emptiness, a desperation for life to have a purpose, any purpose
- rationality : extreme groups are often fighting a real injustice and the tactics often have reasoned philosophical basis - we may not like them, may consider them immoral, but they are often more deeply thoughtful than who they fight
- emotion : the injustices are often personally experienced by their adherents, they are angry, they may seek not just redress but revenge, it's a cause which attracts them as a moth to a flame
- stimulation : the dreary day to day, the monotony vs. the thrill of action, the fight or in some cases straight-up sociopathic indulgence
People are giving themselves to higher-order causes beyond material comfort. They are organizing around rituals of belonging, gurus, directly seeking meaning, applying rational thinking towards advancing their values, experiencing deep personal emotion around systemic or cosmic injustices, and deriving a sense of elevation among "the dreary day to day".
That sounds like a middlebrow dismissal of what these groups are. I think you can describe them with more tangible psychological/philosophical motivations which I don't find useful to describe as "transcendence" e.g.
- belonging : the appeal of the gang, the cult is to find acceptance, your tribe, your family. If life has thrown you to the curb and vulnerable, such organisations will take you in.
- guru syndrome : the search for a paternal figure to structure and make sense of the world, to surrender to, to love, to give devotion, to follow, no matter the path
- meaning : a thirst, an existential emptiness, a desperation for life to have a purpose, any purpose
- rationality : extreme groups are often fighting a real injustice and the tactics often have reasoned philosophical basis - we may not like them, may consider them immoral, but they are often more deeply thoughtful than who they fight
- emotion : the injustices are often personally experienced by their adherents, they are angry, they may seek not just redress but revenge, it's a cause which attracts them as a moth to a flame
- stimulation : the dreary day to day, the monotony vs. the thrill of action, the fight or in some cases straight-up sociopathic indulgence