Courage (also called bravery, valour (British and Commonwealth English), or valor (American English)) is the choice and willingness to confront agony, pain, danger, uncertainty, or intimidation. Valour is courage or bravery, especially in battle.
Physical courage is bravery in the face of physical pain, hardship, even death, or threat of death; while moral courage is the ability to act rightly in the face of popular opposition, shame, scandal, discouragement, or personal loss.
The classical virtue of fortitude (, ) is also translated as "courage", but includes the aspects of perseverance and patience. In the Western tradition, notable thoughts on courage have come from philosophers Socrates, Plato, Aristotle, Aquinas, and Kierkegaard; as well as Christian beliefs and texts.
In the Hindu tradition, mythology has given many examples of courage; with examples of both physical and moral courage exemplified. In the Eastern tradition, the Chinese text Tao Te Ching offers a great deal of thoughts on courage; both physical and moral.
Characteristics of courage Fear and confidence in relation to courage According to Professor Daniel Putman, "courage involves deliberate choice in the face of painful or fearful circumstances for the sake of a worthy goal". With this realization, Putman concludes that "there is a close connection between fear and confidence". Fear and confidence in relation to courage can determine the success of a courageous act or goal. They can be seen as independent variables in courage, and their relationship can affect how we respond to fear. The confidence that is being discussed here is self-confidence; confidence in knowing one's skills and abilities and being able to determine when to fight fear or when to flee it. Putman states that: "The ideal in courage is not just a rigid control of fear, nor is it a denial of the emotion. The ideal is to judge a situation, accept the emotion as part of human nature and, we hope, use well-developed habits to confront the fear and allow reason to guide our behavior toward a worthwhile goal."
According to Putman, Aristotle refers to an appropriate level of fear and confidence in courage. "Fear, although it might vary from person to person, is not completely relative and is only appropriate if it 'matches the danger of the situation'". The same goes for confidence in that there are two aspects to self-confidence in a dangerous situation: "A realistic confidence in the worth of a cause that motivates positive action." "Knowing our own skills and abilities. A second meaning of appropriate confidence then is a form of self-knowledge."
Without an appropriate balance between fear and confidence when facing a threat, one cannot have the courage to overcome it. Professor Daniel Putman states "if the two emotions are distinct, then excesses or deficiencies in either fear or confidence can distort courage". Courage does not mean that you are not afraid, it means that you are willing to face the challenges that lay ahead of you.
Possible distortions of courage According to Putman, there are four possible ways courage could be distorted: "Higher level of fear than a situation calls for, low level of confidence". Someone like this would be perceived as a coward; "Excessively low level of fear when real fear is an appropriate, excessively high level of confidence". Someone like this would be perceived as foolhardy; "Excessively high level of fear, yet the confidence is also excessively high". The third possibility can occur if someone experienced a traumatic experience that brought about great anxiety for much of their life. Then they fear that their experience would often be inappropriate and excessive. Yet as a defensive mechanism, the person would show excessive levels of confidence as a way to confront their irrational fear and "prove" something to oneself or another. So this distortion could be seen as a coping method for their fear. "Excessively low level of fear and low level of confidence". For the last possibility, it can be seen as hopelessness or fatalism.
Thus, Putman identifies fear and courage as being deeply intertwined and that they rely on distinct perceptions: "the danger of the situation", "the worthiness of the cause", "and the perception of one's ability".
Theories Ancient Greece
Plato's Laches discusses courage, but fails to come to a satisfactory conclusion on what courage is. Many definitions of courage are offered, including:
While many definitions are given in Plato's Laches, all are refuted, giving the reader a sense of Plato's argument style. Laches is an early Socratic Dialogue, which may be why Plato doesn't reach a clear conclusion. In this early writing, Plato is still developing his ideas and shows influence from his teachers like Socrates.
In The Republic, Plato describes courage as a sort of perseverance – "preservation of the belief that has been inculcated by the law through education about what things and sorts of things are to be feared". Plato explains this perseverance as being able to persevere through all emotions, like suffering, pleasure, and fear.
As a desirable quality, courage is discussed broadly by Aristotle in the context of soldiers in battle for a noble cause. In Nicomachean Ethics, where its absence is the vice of cowardice and its excess the vice of recklessness, courage represents the mean between the two extremes.
Thucydides, a Greek historian, wrote, "The bravest are surely those who have the clearest vision of what is before them, glory and danger alike, and yet notwithstanding, go out to meet it."
Ancient Rome In the Roman Empire, courage formed part of the universal virtue of . Roman philosopher and statesman Cicero () lists the cardinal virtues but does not name them as such: "Virtue may be defined as a habit of mind () in harmony with reason and the order of nature. It has four parts: wisdom (), justice, courage, temperance." However, Cicero held that "a courageous spirit in a human who has not attained perfection and ideal wisdom is generally too impetuous".
Western traditions In De Officiis Ministrorum, Ambrose echoes Cicero in holding reservations regarding those who exhibit courage without yet having demonstrated a general moral balance. Ambrose held that fortitude without justice occasions injustice; since the stronger a man is the more ready to oppress the weaker.
Courage is a natural virtue which Saint Augustine did not consider a virtue for Christians.
Eastern traditions The Tao Te Ching contends that courage is derived from love () translated as: "From love one gains courage."Chapter 67 (C. Ganson translation) Tao Te Ching with Hanzi translations
In Hindu tradition, Courage () / Bravery (), and Patience () appear as the first two of ten characteristics () of in the Hindu Manusmṛti, alongside forgiveness (), tolerance (), honesty (), physical restraint (), cleanliness (), perceptiveness (), knowledge (), truthfulness (), and control of anger ().
Islamic beliefs also present courage and self-control as key factors in facing the Devil (both internally and externally). Many have this belief because of the courage the Prophets of the past displayed (through peace and patience), despite there being people who despised them.
Modern Pre-19th century Thomas Hobbes lists virtues into the categories of moral virtues and virtues of men in his work Man and Citizen. Hobbes outlines moral virtues as virtues in citizens, that is virtues that without exception are beneficial to society as a whole. These moral virtues are justice (i.e. not violating the law) and charity. Courage as well as prudence and temperance are listed as the virtues of men. By this Hobbes means that these virtues are invested solely in the private good as opposed to the public good of justice and charity. Hobbes describes courage and prudence as strengths of mind as opposed to a goodness of manners. These virtues are always meant to act in the interests of individual while the positive and/or negative effects of society are merely a byproduct. This stems forth from the idea put forth in Leviathan that the state of nature is "solitary, poor, nasty, brutish and short" and self-preservation is the most fundamental aspect of behavior. According to Hobbes courage is a virtue of the individual in order to ensure a better chance of survival while the moral virtues address Hobbes's social contract which civilized men display (in varying degrees) in order to transcend the state of nature. Hobbes also uses the idea of fortitude as a virtue. Fortitude is "to dare" according to Hobbes, but also to "resist stoutly in present dangers". This is a more in-depth elaboration of Hobbes's concept of courage that is addressed earlier in .
David Hume listed virtues into two categories in his work A Treatise of Human Nature: artificial virtues and natural virtues. Hume categorized courage as a natural virtue. In the Treatise'''s section "Of Pride and Humility, Their Objects and Causes", Hume wrote that courage is a cause of pride: "Every valuable quality of the mind, whether of the imagination, judgment, memory or disposition; wit, good-sense, learning, courage, justice, integrity; all these are the cause of pride; and their opposites of humility".
Hume also wrote that courage and joy have positive effects on the soul: "...since the soul, when elevated with joy and courage, in a manner seeks opposition, and throws itself with alacrity into any scene of thought or action, where its courage meets with matter to nourish and employ it". Along with courage nourishing and employing, Hume also wrote that courage defends humans in the Treatise: "We easily gain from the liberality of others, but are always in danger of losing by their avarice: Courage defends us, but cowardice lays us open to every attack".
Hume considered what excessive courage does to a hero's character in the Treatise's section "Of the Other Virtues and Vices": "Accordingly we may observe, that an excessive courage and magnanimity, especially when it displays itself under the frowns of fortune, contributes in a great measure, to the character of a hero, and will render a person the admiration of posterity; at the same time, that it ruins his affairs, and leads him into dangers and difficulties, with which otherwise he would never have been acquainted".
Other understandings of courage that Hume offered can be derived from Hume's views on morals, reason, sentiment, and virtue from his work An Enquiry Concerning the Principles of Morals.19th century onward
Søren Kierkegaard opposed courage to angst, while Paul Tillich opposed an existential courage to be with non-being, fundamentally equating it with religion:
J.R.R. Tolkien identified a "Northern 'theory of courage'" – the heroic or "virtuous pagan" insistence to do the right thing even in the face of certain defeat without promise of reward or salvation:
Virtuous pagan heroism or courage in this sense is "trusting in your own strength", as observed by Jacob Grimm in his Teutonic Mythology:
Ernest Hemingway famously defined courage as "grace under pressure".
Winston Churchill stated, "Courage is rightly esteemed the first of human qualities because it is the quality that guarantees all others."
According to Maya Angelou, "Courage is the most important of the virtues, because without courage you can't practice any other virtue consistently. You can practice any virtue erratically, but nothing consistently without courage."Maya Angelou, Meeting Dr. Du Bois (audio interview by Krista Tippett, 2014) And C. S. Lewis wrote that "Courage is not simply one of the virtues but the form of every virtue at the testing point, which means at the point of highest reality."