Finland 2000

School Violence

Courage

  So what is courage?  Well some believe that courage comes from physical or mental strength, while others believe courage is driven by a sense duty.  Some believe courage comes from a combination of all three.   I believe that courage is a result of mental  and physical strength, the mental strength being the more important because physical strength isn't always called for with regards to courage.   I also believe that to be courageous one must be strong in their faith, because it is one's faith that will give him a hope to cling to and thus enabling them to be courageous.  Courage, I believe is also driven in part by a since of duty and a certain "right" course of action. For if you didn't have some understanding of right and wrong and duty then you would have no reason to be courageous!    However, we will cover more of this later on in the site, so be sure to follow the links!  Let's move on for now to a more general overview of courage.   

The following is an essay summary based upon the Syntopicon Book I of the Great Books series.  This summary is important to read for is covers the discussion over the importance of both physical and mental strength as well as how to become courageous by conquering your fears.

People who have courage " do not despair in the face of almost hopeless odds. They have the strength and the stamina to achieve whatever they set their minds and wills to do." Courage is according to Homer's Iliad "the quality above all others."   Heroes, people who have shown great courage in some form or another "have boundless passions and fear is among them."   So here we see that fear is not just found in the cowered but also in the courageous. According to Aristotle's essay on courage, it would be foolish not to be afraid but the difference between a coward and someone with courage is that the courageous simple do not allow their fears to over take them. Rather the courageous conquer their fear.  Everyone experiences fear, in order to become courageous you have to face and conquer your fear.  The courageous are fearless only because they don't act afraid for fail to act! Their courage is equal to their fear so no matter how afraid they may be, they plunge ahead regardless!

Courage is also not just a physical attribute but a mental one as well.    "Civil courage" as it is called in the essay is necessary for all citizen's of a free government (free meaning democratic government as opposed to a monarchy or communism) .  This is so because in a free government the people are faced with the challenge of protecting their freedom.  The saying "Freedom is never free" is very true!  In a government such as a monarchy the people are not courageous in their civil rights because all they have rests in the hands of another. Therefore civil courage is needed for true freedom and it is also needed for the sacrifices which freedom often demands of her benefactors.  "For Hegel on the contrary, civic courageous consists in undertaking dangers, even to the point of sacrificing for the state."  

Courage is also not just heroics but of learning and being mentally strong. To be courageous one must  be strong of will, willing to make sacrifices, willing to learn and master fears mentally as well as physically. Courage is not necessarily just a physical feat but a mental attitude.  Someone once told me that "if you think you can, you can but if you think you can't your right!"   In the case of courage, this is true. If you think you are unable, or your unwilling to have courage, then you will be unable too but if your are willing to conquer your fear mentally you will succeed.   Courage is being able to face your fears and move forward despite them. Courage is the willingness to sacrifice something for the greater good. Courage is a willingness to learn and to overcome set backs regardless of the difficulty. Courage is ultimately a belief and confidence in yourself and your pursuit! 

Click here to read what Philosopher Aristotle has to say on the topic of Courage.