Courage

[LucrativeSid]

Please define courage in your own words.


Tell me what it means to you personally.


Do you see it as a great virtue or is it mostly overrated?


Are there different types of courage?


Where does courage come from?


What's something you could do to make your life better right now by drawing forth a ton of courage?


Those are my questions, but feel free to break the format and respond however you'd like.

[Athenian200]

Originally Posted by LucrativeSid

Please define courage in your own words.

Courage is choosing to take an action despite being aware of, and fearing potential negative consequences likely to arise from it.

Tell me what it means to you personally.

It means either that the person is unwisely throwing their caution aside and taking a meaningless risk in order to look "cool," or else that they've simply decided that they were willing to give up what they feared losing in an attempt to gain what they sought.

Do you see it as a great virtue or is it mostly overrated?

Neither. I see it as potentially useful in certain situations, because without it we would simply refuse to act when there was any degree of risk to anything involved. It is a quality, that when used properly, can make life more enjoyable and permit you to accomplish personal goals effectively. In some situations, however, I would say caution and withdrawal/hesitation are also virtues.

Are there different types of courage?

Two kinds. One is done for others, the other for oneself. Opinions on which kind is more virtuous differ from person to person.

Where does courage come from?

Desire for what ever you stand to gain by confronting what you fear.

What's something you could do to make your life better right now by drawing forth a ton of courage?

I'm not certain. I suppose it would enable me to get a job and go to school at the same time, and be willing to change employment as often as better opportunities arose rather than trying to settle in somewhere.

[bluebell]

Please define courage in your own words.

To do something despite being scared. (if no fear is involved, then I don't see it as courage)

Do you see it as a great virtue or is it mostly overrated?

Depends on the situation.

Are there different types of courage?

I think so. There is physical courage, such as someone risking their own life to save someone else. Then there is personal, non-physical courage, such as doing public speaking despite being terrified of it or overcoming a phobia. And there is inner courage, such as breaking down internal denial and facing internal pain as part of personal growth. (er, my names for these types of courage lack a little something)

Where does courage come from?

Not sure. Maybe internal strength or belief that things wil be ok regardless.

What's something you could do to make your life better right now by drawing forth a ton of courage?

Overcoming past trauma because it still dominates my life too much.

[Victor]

Physical courage is quite common. All police, firemen and women, and soldiers have physical courage. And mothers will defend their children like tigers.

But moral courage is quite rare.

I think this is because it means standing against the pack. And few of us can do that.

[disregard]

Courage is forfeiting the comfort and security of certainty for the freedom of uncertainty. A celebration of autonomy.

It can be virtuous if morality enters into the equation, but it certainly doesn't have to be.

[Hirsch63]

Originally Posted by LucrativeSid

Please define courage in your own words.

An internal drive to confront a situation that would (likely) put you at risk with no expectation of gain. Courage is not bravado; courage has its roots in altruism.

Tell me what it means to you personally.

To intentionally bear a child (or, keep an accidental one) and raise it responsibly into a competent adult.


Do you see it as a great virtue or is it mostly overrated?

In the reasoning animal it is no more explicable than other choices, yet the very nature of this choice (that is out of altruism) would seem to require that the one selecting it must believe it to be the moral imperative. Since the choice of courage may have its origins from a variety of indoctrinations, any human "good" or "bad" can claim it virtuous from their perspective.

Are there different types of courage?

There is certainly courage in a variety of situations...As long as there is no certainty of outcome and (even) more likelyhood of a personal risk a choice in the face of that may be called courageous?

Where does courage come from?

Literally, the heart.

What's something you could do to make your life better right now by drawing forth a ton of courage?

Believe.

Well, my chain is getting yanked, gotta go.

[Jennifer]

Originally Posted by Victor

... moral courage is quite rare. I think this is because it means standing against the pack. And few of us can do that.

I think people can manage in the short-term; but some actions have long-term repercussions, and at that point, people evaluate what the cost of their choices are and might become afraid to commit.

I agree that courage is choosing to do something that scares you. I still might be liable to call something "brave" that someone does even when they're not scared, if many OTHER people would be scared to do it; but it definitely doesn't have the same risk factor.

The courage factor is based basically on the amount of anxiety and risk involved in that particular person's decision. For an outspoken person to voice their opinion is no big deal; it takes more courage for them to shut up. For a mousy person, the time they stand up and say what they think can be a sign of magnificent courage.

[INTJMom]

I decided to gather some wise sayings on Courage:

R. G. Ingersoll
The greatest test of courage on the earth is to bear defeat without losing heart.

Confucius Analects
To see what is right and not to do it, is want of courage.

Anais Nin
Life shrinks or expands in proportion to one's courage.

Earl Wilson
Courage is the art of being the only one who knows you're scared to death!

La Rochefoucauld
Perfect courage means doing unwitnessed what we would be capable of with the world looking on.

Helen Keller:
I long to accomplish a great and noble tasks, but it is my chief duty to accomplish humble tasks as though they were great and noble. The world is moved along, not only by the mighty shoves of its heroes, but also by the aggregate of the tiny pushes of each honest worker.

Ambrose Redmoon:
Courage is not the absence of fear, but rather the judgment that something else is more important than fear.

[ptgatsby]

Please define courage in your own words.

To put aside the self, to make decisions on a framework that is not based on self, to carry through on actions that are not a part of self.

This ties into doing it despite being afraid/negative effect, but is contrary to "doing something different".

Tell me what it means to you personally.

It means to overcome ourselves, to face our own inadequacy, accept them and strive to overcome them.

Do you see it as a great virtue or is it mostly overrated?

I see it as a virtue, in the context of how I define it.

Are there different types of courage?

As many as there are people.

Where does courage come from?

The denial of ego.

What's something you could do to make your life better right now by drawing forth a ton of courage?

Better? On what standard...? I could be brave and quit my job, but that would let down my wife, our plans and our future.

The best thing I could do is find a way to deal with the constant feeling of being overwhelmed. But I'm not sure what I could do to move that forward, or if it would relate to courage.

[Bella]

...being an SJ.