Courage
[2] 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 Eastern tradition, the Chinese text Tao Te Ching offers a great deal of thoughts on courage; both physical and moral.
According to Professor Daniel Putman, "courage involves deliberate choice in the face of painful or fearful circumstances for the sake of a worthy goal".
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.
Professor Daniel Putman states "if the two emotions are distinct, then excesses or deficiencies in either fear or confidence can distort courage".
Many definitions of courage are offered, including:[10] ...a man willing to remain at his post and to defend himself against the enemy without running away...[10] ...a sort of endurance of the soul...[10]
[14] Thucydides, a 5th century BCE 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.
"[17][18] However, Cicero held that "a courageous spirit in a human who has not attained perfection and ideal wisdom is generally too impetuous".
[19] In De Officiis Ministrorum, Ambrose echoes Cicero in holding reservations regarding those who exhibit courage without yet having demonstrated a general moral balance.
[20] Ambrose held that fortitude without justice occasions injustice; since the stronger a man is the more ready to oppress the weaker.
"[22] In Hindu tradition, Courage (shauriya) / Bravery (dhairya), and Patience (taamasa) appear as the first two of ten characteristics (lakshana) of dharma in the Hindu Manusmṛti, alongside forgiveness (kshama), tolerance (dama), honesty (asthaya), physical restraint (indriya nigraha), cleanliness (shouchya), perceptiveness (dhi), knowledge (vidhya), truthfulness (satya), and control of anger (akrodha).
[23] Islamic beliefs also present courage and self-control as a key factors in facing the Devil (both internally and externally).
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.
[30] 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".
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.
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.
"[38] In Beyond Good and Evil, Friedrich Nietzsche describes master–slave morality, in which a noble man regards himself as a "determiner of values"; one who does not require approval, but passes judgment.
[44] They defined it as: the ability to act for a meaningful (noble, good, or practical) cause, despite experiencing the fear associated with perceived threat exceeding the available resources[44][45]Also, because[non sequitur] courage is a "[clarification needed]multi-dimensional construct, it can be "better understood as an exceptional response to specific external conditions or circumstances than as an attribute, disposition, or character trait".
[46] They are: With these four components, they were able to define courage as: a willful, intentional act, executed after mindful deliberation, involving objective substantial risk to the actor, primarily motivated to bring about a noble good or worthy end, despite, perhaps, the presence of the emotion of fear.
[52] The opposing theory is that of "clinical recklessness", in which the actions of a clinician in stepping outside of their competence results in unprofessional behaviour, which exposes patients to risk or harm.
[56] According to Presbyterian theologian William Swan Plumer, "There is also, in strict propriety of language, a difference between courage and fortitude.
