Courage (also called bravery, bravado or valour) is the choice and willingness to

confront agony, pain, danger, uncertainty orintimidation. Physical courage is courage in the face of
physical pain, hardship, 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.
In some traditions, fortitude holds approximately the same meaning. In the Western tradition,
notable thoughts on courage have come from
philosophers, Socrates, Plato, Aristotle, Aquinas and Kierkegaard; in the Eastern tradition, some
thoughts on courage were offered by the Tao Te Ching. More recently, courage has been explored
by the discipline of psychology.

Western antiquity and the Middle Ages[edit]

Ancient Greece[edit]
There is a tradition moving back to Ancient Greek philosophy for counting courage or fortitude as
one of the four cardinal virtues, along with prudence, justice, and temperance.[1] ("Cardinal" in this
sense means "pivotal"; it is one of the four cardinal virtues because to possess any virtue, a person
must be able to sustain it in the face of difficulty.)
An early Greek philosopher, Plato (c. 428 BCE c. 348 BCE),[2] set the groundwork for how courage
would be viewed to future philosophers. Platos early writings found in Laches show a discussion on
courage, they fail to come to a satisfactory conclusion on what courage is. During the debate
between three leaders, including Socrates, many definitions of courage are mentioned.
"a man willing to remain at his post and to defend himself against the enemy without running
away" "a sort of endurance of the soul" "knowledge of the grounds of fear and hope" [3]
While many definitions are given in Platos Laches, all are refuted, giving a reader a sense of Platos
argument style. Laches is an early writing of Platos, which may be a reason he does not come to a
clear conclusion. In this early writing, Plato is still developing his ideas and shows influence from his
teachers like Socrates.
In one of his later writings, The Republic, Plato gives more concrete ideas of what he believes
courage to be. Civic courage is described 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".[4] Ideas of courage being perseverance also are seen in Laches. Plato further explains this
perseverance as being able to persevere through all emotions, like suffering, pleasure, and fear.[5]
As a desirable quality, courage is discussed broadly in Aristotle's Nicomachean Ethics, where its vice
of shortage is cowardice and its vice of excess is recklessness.[6]
Ancient Rome[edit]

In the Roman Empire, courage formed part of the universal virtue of virtus.[7] Roman philosopher and
statesman Cicero (10643 BC) lists the cardinal virtues does not name them such:
Virtue may be defined as a habit of mind (animi) in harmony with reason and the order of nature. It
has four parts: wisdom (prudentiam), justice, courage, temperance. (De Inventione, II, LIII)
Medieval philosophy[edit]
In medieval virtue ethics, championed by Averroes and Thomas Aquinas and still important
to Roman Catholicism, courage is referred to as "Fortitude".[8][9]
According to Thomas Aquinas,[10]
Among the cardinal virtues, prudence ranks first, justice second, fortitude third, temperance fourth,
and after these the other virtues.
Part of his justification for this hierarchy is that
Fortitude without justice is an occasion of injustice; since the stronger a man is the more ready is he
to oppress the weaker.
On fortitude's general and special nature, Aquinas says,[10]
The term "fortitude" can be taken in two ways. First, as simply denoting a certain firmness of mind,
and in this sense it is a general virtue, or rather a condition of every virtue, since as the
Philosopher states (Ethic. ii), it is requisite for every virtue to act firmly and immovably. Secondly,
fortitude may be taken to denote firmness only in bearing and withstanding those things wherein it is
most difficult to be firm, namely in certain grave dangers. Therefore Tully says (Rhet. ii), that
"fortitude is deliberate facing of dangers and bearing of toils." On this sense fortitude is reckoned a
special virtue, because it has a special matter.
Aquinas holds fortitude or courage as being primarily about endurance, not attack: [10]
As stated above (Article 3), and according to the Philosopher (Ethic. iii, 9), "fortitude is more
concerned to allay fear, than to moderate daring." For it is more difficult to allay fear than to
moderate daring, since the danger which is the object of daring and fear, tends by its very nature to
check daring to increase fear. Now to attack belongs to fortitude in so far as the latter moderates
daring, whereas to endure follows the repression of fear. Therefore the principal act of fortitude is
endurance, that is to stand immovable in the midst of dangers rather than to attack them.
Christianity[edit]
In both Catholicism and Anglicanism, courage is also one of the seven gifts of the Holy Spirit.
For Thomas Aquinas, Fortitude is the virtue to remove any obstacle that keeps the will from following
reason.[8] Thomas Aquinas argues that Courage is a virtue along with the Christian virtues in
the Summa Theologica can only be exemplified with the presence of the Christian virtues: faith,

hope, and mercy. In order to understand true courage in Christianity it takes someone who displays
the virtues of faith hope and mercy.[8] Courage is a natural virtue which Saint Augustine did not
consider a virtue for Christians. Thomas Aquinas considers courage a virtue through the
Christian virtue of mercy. Only through mercy and charity can we call the natural virtue of courage a
Christian virtue. Unlike Aristotle, Aquinas courage is about endurance, not bravery in battle.[11]

Eastern traditions[edit]
The Tao Te Ching states that courage is derived from love (" loving causes ability brave")
and explains: "One of courage, with audacity, will die. One of courage, but gentle, spares death.
From these two kinds of courage arise harm and benefit." [12][13]
Courage (shauriya) and Patience (dhairya) appear as the first two of ten characteristics (lakshana)
of dharma in the Hindu Manusmr ti, besides forgiveness (kshama), tolerance (dama), honesty
(asthaya), physical restraint (indriya nigraha), cleanliness (shouchya), perceptiveness (dhi),
knowledge (vidhya), truthfulness (satya), and control of anger (akrodh).
Islamic beliefs also present courage and self-control as a key factor in facing the Devil and in some
cases Jihad to a lesser extent; many believe this because of the courage (through peace and
patience) the Prophets of the past displayed against people who despised them for their beliefs.

Modernity[edit]
Thomas Hobbes lists virtues into the categories of moral virtues and virtues of men in his work "Man
and Citizen."[14] Hobbes outlines moral virtues as virtues in citizens, that is virtues that without
exception are beneficial to society as a whole.[15] 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. [14] 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 a strength 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." 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 avoid the state of nature. Hobbes also uses the idea of fortitude as an
idea of virtue. Fortitude is "to dare" according to Hobbes, but also to "resist stoutly in present
dangers."[16] This a more in depth elaboration of Hobbes's concept of courage that is addressed
earlier in "Man and Citizen." This idea relates back to Hobbes's idea that self-preservation is the
most fundamental aspect of behavior.
David Hume listed virtues into two categories in his work A Treatise of Human Nature as artificial
virtues and natural virtues. Hume noted in the Treatise that courage is a natural virtue. In the
Treatise's section Of Pride and Humility, Their Objects and Causes, Hume clearly stated 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 434).
Hume also related courage and joy to 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" (Hume
666). 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 459).
Hume wrote 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" (Hume 900).
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.
Sren Kierkegaard opposed courage to angst, while Paul Tillich opposed an existential courage to
be to non-being, fundamentally equating it with religion:
Courage is the self-affirmation of being in spite of the fact of non-being. It is the act of the individual
self in taking the anxiety of non-being upon itself by affirming itself ... in the anxiety of guilt and
condemnation. ... every courage to be has openly or covertly a religious root. For religion is the state
of being grasped by the power of being itself.[17]
J.R.R. Tolkien identified in his 1936 lecture "Beowulf: The Monsters and the Critics" 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:
It is the strength of the northern mythological imagination that it faced this problem, put the monsters
in the centre, gave them victory but no honor, and found a potent and terrible solution in naked will
and courage. 'As a working theory absolutely impregnable.' So potent is it, that while the older
southern imagination has faded forever into literary ornament, the northern has power, as it were, to
revive its spirit even in our own times. It can work, as it did even with the golauss Viking, without
gods: martial heroism as its own end.[18]
Virtuous pagan heroism or courage in this sense is "trusting in your own strength," as observed
by Jacob Grimm in his Teutonic Mythology,

Men who, turning away in utter disgust and doubt from the heathen faith, placed their reliance on
their own strength and virtue. Thus in the Slar lio 17 we read of Vbogi and Rdey sik au
tru, "in themselves they trusted."[19]
Ernest Hemingway famously defined courage as "grace under pressure."[20]
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."
In Beyond Good and Evil, Friedrich Nietzsche describes masterslave morality, in which a noble
man regards himself as a "determiner of values;" one who does not require approval, but passes
judgment. Later, in the same text, he lists man's four virtues as "courage, insight, sympathy, and
solitude," and goes on to emphasize the importance of courage: "The great epochs of our life are the
occasions when we gain the courage to re-baptize our evil qualities as our best qualities." [21]

Society and symbolism[edit]

Its accompanying animal is the lion.[22] Often, fortitude is depicted as having tamed the ferocious lion.
Cf. e.g. the Tarot trump called Strength. It is sometimes seen in the Catholic Church as a depiction of
Christ's triumph over sin (see Revelation 5:5). It also is a symbol in some cultures as a savior of the
people who live in a community with sin and corruption.
Associations in popular culture between courage and masculinity has resulted in usages of
synonymous terms "having balls".

Awards[edit]

The Victoria Cross.

See also Category:Courage awards

Several awards claim to recognize courageous actions, including:

The Edelstam Prize awarded for outstanding contributions and exceptional courage in
standing up for ones beliefs in the defense of Human Rights.

The Victoria Cross is the highest military award that may be received by members of the
armed forces in the British Army and other Commonwealthcountries for valour "in the face of
the enemy." A total of 1,356 have been awarded to individuals, 13 since World War II. The
civilian equivalent being the George Cross.

The Medal of Honor is the highest military decoration awarded by the United States
government. It is bestowed on members of the United States armed forces who distinguish
themselves "conspicuously by gallantry and intrepidity at the risk of his life above and
beyond the call of duty while engaged in an action against an enemy of the United States".

Distinguished Service Cross (United States) is the second highest military decoration that
can be awarded to a member of the United States Army, awarded for extreme gallantry and
risk of life in actual combat with an armed enemy force.

The Carnegie Hero Fund - was established to recognize persons who perform extraordinary
acts of heroism in civilian life in the United States and Canada, and to provide financial
assistance for those disabled and the dependents of those killed saving or attempting to
save others.

The Profile in Courage Award is a private award given to recognize displays of courage
similar to those John F. Kennedy described in his book Profiles in Courage. It is given to
individuals (often elected officials) who, by acting in accord with their conscience, risked
their careers or lives by pursuing a larger vision of the national, state or local interest in
opposition to popular opinion or pressure from constituents or other local interests.

The Civil Courage Prize is a human rights award which is awarded to "steadfast resistance
to evil at great personal risk rather than military valor." It is awarded by the Trustees of
The Train Foundation annually and may be awarded posthumously.

Courage to Care Award is a plaque with miniature bas-reliefs depicting the backdrop for the
rescuers' exceptional deeds during the Nazis' persecution, deportation and murder of
millions of Jews.

The Ivan Allen Jr. Prize for Social Courage is a prize awarded by Georgia Institute of
Technology to individuals who uphold the legacy of former Atlanta Mayor Ivan Allen Jr.,

whose actions in Atlanta, Georgia and testimony before congress in support of the 1963
Civil Rights Bill legislation set a standard for courage during the turbulent civil rights era of
the 1960s.

The Param Vir Chakra is the highest military award in India given to those who show the
highest degree of valour or self-sacrifice in the presence of the enemy. It can be, and often
has been, awarded posthumously.

See also[edit]
Ethics portal
Philosophy portal
Psychology portal

Boldness

Bushido

Chivalry

Dharma

Karma

Virtue

Notes[edit]
1.
2.

Jump up^ Miller 2000, pp. 78

Jump up^ "Plato Biography Philosopher, Writer (c. 428 BCEc. 348 BCE". Retrieved October
18,2015.

3.

Jump up^ Plato, Cooper & Hutchinson 1997, pp. 67586

4.

Jump up^ Plato, Cooper & Hutchinson 1997, pp. 106175

5.

Jump up^ Plato, Cooper & Hutchinson 1997, pp. 206175

6.

Jump up^ Aristotle, Nichomachean Ethics, 1103b15-20, 1104a15-25, 1104b1-10, 1107a301107b5, 1108b15-35, 1109a5-15, 1115a5-1117b25, 1129b20-5, 1137a20-5, 144b5-10, 1167a20,
1177a30-b1, 1178a10-5, 1178a30-5, 1178b10-5, in Aristotle, Translation, Introduction, and
Commentary, Broadie, Sarah, & Rowe, C., Oxford University Press, 2002.

7.

Jump up^ Myles McDonnell; Roman Manliness

8.

^ Jump up to:a b c Walton 1986, pp. 6263

9.

Jump up^ "Summa Theologica". Christian Classics Ethereal Library.

10.

11.
12.

^ Jump up to:a b c "Summa Theologica: Fortitude (Secunda Secundae Partis, Q. 123)". New
Advent.
Jump up^ Miller 2000, pp. 2122
Jump up^ Chapter 67 and 73, Tao Te Ching (C. Ganson uses the word "courage", but the
Mitchell translation does not.)

13.

Jump up^ Zhonwen.com, Tao Te Ching with Hanzi translations

14.

^ Jump up to:a b Hobbes 1972, pp. 6870

15.

Jump up^ Hobbes 1972, pp. 1718

16.

Jump up^ Hobbes 1972, pp. 150152

17.

Jump up^ Tillich 1952, pp. 152183

18.

Jump up^ Tolkien, JRR. "Beowulf: The Monsters and the Critics". The Tolkien Estate. p. 25.
Archived from the original on 2007-10-15. Retrieved 2008-04-25.

19.

Jump up^ Grimm, Jacob (1835). Deutsche Mythologie (Teutonic Mythology) (in German) (1
ed.). Dieterich: Gttingen.

20.

Jump up^ Carter, Richard. "Celebrating Ernest Hemingway's Century". neh.gov. National
Endowment for the Humanities. Retrieved 2009-06-19.

21.

Jump up^ Nietzsche, Friedrich Wilhelm (1989). Beyond Good and Evil: Prelude to a
Philosophy of the Future. New York: Vintage.

22.

Jump up^ Miller 2000, pp. 101102

References[edit]

Jeanmart, G.; Blsin, L. (dir.), Figures du courage politique dans la philosophie moderne et
contemporaine, numro thmatique de la revue Dissensus. Revue de philosophie politique de
l'Universit de Lige (http://popups.ulg.ac.be/dissensus/), n2, automne 2009.

Avramenko, Richard (2011). Courage: The Politics of Life and Limb. University of Notre Dame Press.

"Catholic Encyclopedia "Fortitude"". New Advent.

"Summa Theologica "Second Part of the Second Part"". New Advent. See Questions 123140

Becker, Ernest (1973). The Denial of Death. New York: The Free Press.

Walton, Douglas N. (1986). Courage: A Philosophical Investigation. Los Angeles: University of

California Press. ISBN 0-520-05443-1.

Palmquist, Stephen (2000). "Angst and the Paradox of Courage". The Tree of Philosophy. Hong Kong:
Philopsychy Press.

Hobbes, Thomas (1972). Bernard Gert, ed. Man and Citizen (De Homine and De Cive). Indianapolis:
Hackett Publishing Company. ISBN 0-8446-4756-X.

Hobbes, Thomas; Tuck, Richard (1991). Leviathan. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.

Hume, David (2009). A Treatise On Human Nature : Being An Attempt To Introduce The Experimental
Method Of Reasoning Into Moral Subjects. The Floating Press.

Hume, David (1751). An Enquiry Concerning The Principles Of Morals. Lanham: Start Publishing LLC.

Bussey, K. (1992). "Lying and truthfulness: Children's definitions, standards, and evaluative
reactions". Child Development. pp. 63, 129137.