Courage

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Courage

Gallantry redirects here. Or see Gallant
Gallant

Gallant may refer to* Michael Gallant, a medical doctor in the TV series ER* Highlights for Children#Goofus & Gallant, a cartoon in Highlights for Children featuring two contrasting boys to show differences between "good" and "bad" behavior...
for other meanings.

Courage, also known as bravery, will, intrepidity, and fortitude, is the ability to confront fear
Fear

Fear is an emotional response to threats and danger. It is a basic survival mechanism occurring in response to a specific stimulus, such as pain or the threat of pain....
, pain
Pain

Pain, in the sense of physical pain, is a typical sensory experience that may be described as the unpleasant awareness of a noxious stimulus or bodily harm....
, risk/danger
Risk

Risk is a concept that denotes the precise probability of specific eventualities. Technically, the notion of risk is independent from the notion of value and, as such, eventualities may have both beneficial and adverse consequences....
, uncertainty
Uncertainty

Uncertainty is a term used in subtly different ways in a number of fields, including philosophy, Uncertainty_principle , statistics, economics, finance, insurance, psychology, sociology, engineering, and information science....
, or intimidation
Intimidation

Intimidation is intentional behavior "which would cause a person of ordinary sensibilities" fear of injury or harm. It's not necessary to prove that the behavior was so violent as to cause terror or that the victim was actually frightened....
. "Physical courage" is courage in the face of physical pain, hardship, or threat of death, while "moral courage" is the ability to act rightly
Ethics

Ethics is a word for a philosophy that encompasses proper conduct and good living. It is significantly broader than the common conception of ethics as the analyzing of right and wrong....
in the face of popular opposition
Opposition

* Opposition , a term describing the position of a celestial body* Opposition , a term describing the position of the kings relative to each other* Opposition proceeding, an administrative process available under some patent or trademark laws...
, shame
Shame

Shame is, variously, an Affect_, emotion, cognition, state_of_being. The roots of the word shame are thought to derive from an older word meaning to cover; as such, covering oneself, literally or figuratively, is a natural expression of shame....
, scandal
Scandal

A scandal is a widely publicized incident that involves allegations of Malfeasance in office, disgrace, or Morality outrage. A scandal may be based on reality, the product of false allegations, or a mixture of both....
, or discouragement.

Tao Te Ching
Tao Te Ching

The Tao Te Ching or Dao De Jing , originally known as Laozi or Lao tzu , is a Chinese classic text. Its name comes from the opening words of its two sections: ? d?o "way," Chapter 1, and ? d? "virtue," Chapter 38, plus ? jing "classic." According to tradition, it was written around the 6th century...
states that courage is derived from love
Love

Love is any of a number of emotions and experiences related to a sense of strong affection and attachment . The word wikt:en:love can refer to a variety of different feelings, states, and attitudes, ranging from generic pleasure to intense interpersonal attraction....
("? loving ? causes ? ability ? brave") and explains: "One of courage, with audacity, will kill.

Discussion

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Quotations

All serious daring starts from within.
Harriet Beecher Stowe

An elephant pierced by arrows stands unperturbed. The courageous relent not in adversities.
Valluvar Tirukkural 597

And each man stand with his face in the light of his own drawn sword. Ready to do what a hero can.
Elizabeth Barrett Browning

Being deeply loved by someone gives you strength while loving someone deeply gives you courage.
Lao Tzu

Boasting at home is not valor; parade is not battle; when war comes the valiant will be known.
Anonymous

Courage easily finds its own eloquence.
Plautus

Encyclopedia

Gallantry redirects here. Or see Gallant
Gallant

Gallant may refer to* Michael Gallant, a medical doctor in the TV series ER* Highlights for Children#Goofus & Gallant, a cartoon in Highlights for Children featuring two contrasting boys to show differences between "good" and "bad" behavior...
for other meanings.

Courage, also known as bravery, will, intrepidity, and fortitude, is the ability to confront fear
Fear

Fear is an emotional response to threats and danger. It is a basic survival mechanism occurring in response to a specific stimulus, such as pain or the threat of pain....
, pain
Pain

Pain, in the sense of physical pain, is a typical sensory experience that may be described as the unpleasant awareness of a noxious stimulus or bodily harm....
, risk/danger
Risk

Risk is a concept that denotes the precise probability of specific eventualities. Technically, the notion of risk is independent from the notion of value and, as such, eventualities may have both beneficial and adverse consequences....
, uncertainty
Uncertainty

Uncertainty is a term used in subtly different ways in a number of fields, including philosophy, Uncertainty_principle , statistics, economics, finance, insurance, psychology, sociology, engineering, and information science....
, or intimidation
Intimidation

Intimidation is intentional behavior "which would cause a person of ordinary sensibilities" fear of injury or harm. It's not necessary to prove that the behavior was so violent as to cause terror or that the victim was actually frightened....
. "Physical courage" is courage in the face of physical pain, hardship, or threat of death, while "moral courage" is the ability to act rightly
Ethics

Ethics is a word for a philosophy that encompasses proper conduct and good living. It is significantly broader than the common conception of ethics as the analyzing of right and wrong....
in the face of popular opposition
Opposition

* Opposition , a term describing the position of a celestial body* Opposition , a term describing the position of the kings relative to each other* Opposition proceeding, an administrative process available under some patent or trademark laws...
, shame
Shame

Shame is, variously, an Affect_, emotion, cognition, state_of_being. The roots of the word shame are thought to derive from an older word meaning to cover; as such, covering oneself, literally or figuratively, is a natural expression of shame....
, scandal
Scandal

A scandal is a widely publicized incident that involves allegations of Malfeasance in office, disgrace, or Morality outrage. A scandal may be based on reality, the product of false allegations, or a mixture of both....
, or discouragement.

Discussion in religions
The Tao Te Ching
Tao Te Ching

The Tao Te Ching or Dao De Jing , originally known as Laozi or Lao tzu , is a Chinese classic text. Its name comes from the opening words of its two sections: ? d?o "way," Chapter 1, and ? d? "virtue," Chapter 38, plus ? jing "classic." According to tradition, it was written around the 6th century...
states that courage is derived from love
Love

Love is any of a number of emotions and experiences related to a sense of strong affection and attachment . The word wikt:en:love can refer to a variety of different feelings, states, and attitudes, ranging from generic pleasure to intense interpersonal attraction....
("? loving ? causes ? ability ? brave") and explains: "One of courage, with audacity, will kill. One of courage, but gentle, spares life. From these two kinds of courage arise harm and benefit."

In Roman Catholicism
Roman Catholic Church

The Roman Catholic Church, officially known as the Catholic Church is the world's largest Christianity Ecclesia , representing over half of all Christians and one-sixth of the world population....
, courage is referred to as "Fortitude" as one of the four cardinal virtues
Cardinal virtues

In some Christian traditions, there are four cardinal virtues:*Prudence - able to judge between actions with regard to appropriate actions at a given time...
, along with prudence
Prudence

Prudence is the exercise of sound judgment in practical affairs. It is classically considered to be a virtue, and in particular one of the four Cardinal virtues ....
, justice
Justice (virtue)

Justice is one of the four cardinal virtues in classical European philosophy and Roman Catholicism. It is the moderation between selfishness and selflessness....
, and temperance
Temperance (virtue)

Temperance is the practice of moderation. It was one of the four "cardinal" virtues held to be vital to society in Ancient Greece culture. It is one of the Four Cardinal Virtues considered central to Christian behaviour by the Catholic Church and is an important tenet of the moral codes of other world religions—for example, it is...
. ("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.) In both Catholicism and Anglicanism
Anglicanism

Anglicanism is a tradition of Christianity faith. Churches in this tradition either have historical connections to the Church of England or have similar beliefs, worship and church structures....
, courage is also one of the seven gifts of the Holy Spirit
Seven gifts of the Holy Spirit

The traditional view has been that there are nine gifts of the Holy Spirit, as listed in 1 Corinthians 12, but you only have to read to the end of 1 Corinthians 12, Ephesians 4 and Romans 12 to see that there are at least 20....
.

Discussion in philosophy
As a virtue, courage is discussed extensively in Aristotle's
Aristotle

Aristotle was a Greeks philosopher, a student of Plato and teacher of Alexander the Great. He wrote on many subjects, including physics, metaphysics, Poetics , theater, music, logic, rhetoric, politics, government, ethics, biology and zoology....
Nicomachean Ethics
Nicomachean Ethics

Nicomachean Ethics, or Ta Ethika, is a work by Aristotle on virtue and moral character which plays a prominent role in defining Aristotelian ethics....
, where its vice of deficiency is cowardice
Cowardice

Cowardice describes a personality trait which is typically viewed as a negative characteristic and has been generally frowned upon within most, if not all global cultures, while courage - typically viewed as its direct opposite - is generally rewarded and encouraged....
and its vice of excess is recklessness
Recklessness (psychology)

Recklessness is disregard for or indifference to the dangers of a situation or for the consequences of one's actions."Reck" is a regard or reckoning, particularly of a situation....
.

Søren Kierkegaard
Søren Kierkegaard

S?ren Aabye Kierkegaard was a prolific 19th century Denmark philosopher and theologian. Kierkegaard strongly criticised both the Hegelianism of his time, and what he saw as the empty ceremony of the Church of Denmark....
opposed courage to angst
Angst

Angst is a German language and Dutch language word for fear or anxiety. It is used in English to describe an intense feeling of strife. The term Angst distinguishes itself from the word Furcht in that Furcht usually refers to a material threat , while Angst is usually a nondirectional emotion....
, while Paul Tillich
Paul Tillich

Paul Johannes Tillich was a Germany-United States theology and Christian existentialism philosopher. Tillich was, along with his contemporaries Rudolf Bultmann , Karl Barth , and Reinhold Niebuhr , one of the four most influential Protestant theologians of the twentieth century....
opposed an existential courage to be to non-being, fundamentally equating it with religion
Religion

A religion is an organized approach to human spirituality which usually encompasses a set of myth, symbols, beliefs and practices, often with a supernatural or transcendence quality, that give meaning to the practitioner's experiences of life through reference to a higher power or truth....
:
"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."

Courage (Dhairya) appears as the first of ten characteristics (Laxana) of religion (Dharma)in Manusmruti the hindu scripture,remaining characteristics being forgiveness (Kshama), tolerance (Dama), not to steal (Asthaya), control of senses (Indriy Nigraha), Cleanliness (Shouchya), intelligence (Dhi), knowledge (Vidhya), truth (Satya), and not to get angry (Akrodh).

Discussion in literature
J.R.R. Tolkien identified in his 1936 lecture "Beowulf: The Monsters and the Critics
Beowulf: the monsters and the critics

"Beowulf: The Monsters and the Critics" was a 1936 lecture given by J. R. R. Tolkien on literary criticism on the Old English language heroic epic poem Beowulf....
" a "Northern
Northern Europe

Northern Europe is the northern part or region of Europe. The United Nations defines Northern Europe as including the following countries and dependent regions:...
'theory of courage'"—the hero
Hero

A hero , in Greek mythology and folklore, was originally a demigod, the offspring of a mortal and a deity,their Greek hero cult being one of the most distinctive features of Religion in ancient Greece....
ic or "virtuous pagan
Virtuous pagan

Virtuous paganism is a concept of Christian theology analogous to the Righteous Among the Nations in Judaism. It addressed the problem of paganism who were never evangelization and consequently during their lifetime had no opportunity to recognize Christ, but nevertheless led virtue lives, so that it seemed objectionable to consider them dam...
" insistence to do the right thing even in the face of certain defeat without promise of reward or salvation
Salvation

In religion, salvation is the concept that God saves humanity from death. As commonly conceived, He has both Will of God and omnipotence to realize human salvation....
:

Virtuous pagan heroism or courage in this sense is "trusting in your own strength," as observed by Jacob Grimm
Jacob Grimm

Jacob Ludwig Carl Grimm , German Confederation philologist, jurist and mythology, was born at Hanau, in Hesse-Kassel . He is best known as the discoverer of Grimm's Law, the author of the monumental German Dictionary, his Deutsche Mythologie and more popularly, as one of the Brothers Grimm, as the editor of Grimm's Fairy Tales....
in his Teutonic Mythology,

Civil courage
Civil courage (sometimes also referred to as "Social courage") is defined by many different standards. In general, the term is usually referred to when civilians stand up against something that is deemed unjust and evil
Evil

Evil, in many cultures, is a broad term used to describe intentional negative moral acts or thoughts that are cruel, unjust or selfish. Evil is usually good and evil, which describes acts that are kind, just or unselfish....
, knowing that the consequences of their action might lead to their death, injury or some other form of significant harm.

In some countries (e.g. Brazil
Brazil

Brazil , officially the Federative Republic of Brazil , is a country in South America. It is the List of countries and outlying territories by total area country by geographical area, occupying nearly half of South America, the List of countries by population country, and the fourth most populous democracy in the world....
, France
France

France , officially the French Republic , is a country whose Metropolitan France is located in Western Europe and that also comprises various Overseas departments and territories of France....
and Germany
Germany

Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a country in Central Europe. It is bordered to the north by the North Sea, Denmark, and the Baltic Sea; to the east by Poland and the Czech Republic; to the south by Austria and Switzerland; and to the west by France, Luxembourg, Belgium, and the Netherlands....
) civil courage is enforced by law; this means that if a crime is committed in public, the public is obliged to act, either by alerting the authorities, or by intervening in the conflict. If the crime is committed in a private environment, those who witness the crime must either report it to the authorities or attempt to stop it.

Symbolism
Its accompanying animal is the lion
Lion

The lion is a member of the family Felidae and one of four big cats in the genus Panthera. With exceptionally large males exceeding 250 kg in weight, it is the second-largest living cat after the tiger....
. Often, Fortitude is depicted as having tamed the ferocious lion. Cf. e.g. the Tarot
Tarot

The tarot is typically a set of seventy-eight cards, composed of twenty-one Trump , one The Fool , and four Suit of fourteen cards each?ten pip and four Face card cards ....
trump called Strength
Strength (Tarot card)

Strength is a Major Arcana Tarot card, and is numbered either XI or VIII, depending on the deck. Historically it was called Fortitude, and in the Thoth Tarot deck it is called Lust....
. It is sometimes seen as a depiction of the Catholic Church's triumph over sin. It also is a symbol in some cultures as a savior of the people who live in a community with sin and a corrupt church or religious body.

See also

Bushido
Bushido

, meaning "Way of the Warrior", is a Japanese code of conduct and a way of the samurai life, loosely analogous to the concept of chivalry. It originates from the samurai moral code and stresses frugality, loyalty, martial arts mastery, and honour until death....
Chivalry
Chivalry

Chivalry is a term relating to the medieval institution of knighthood. It is usually associated with ideals of knightly virtues, honor and courtly love....
Cowardice
Cowardice

Cowardice describes a personality trait which is typically viewed as a negative characteristic and has been generally frowned upon within most, if not all global cultures, while courage - typically viewed as its direct opposite - is generally rewarded and encouraged....
Dharma
Dharma

The term , is an Indian Indian philosophy and Indian religions term, that means one's righteous duty or any virtuous path in the common sense of the term....
Virtue
Virtue

Virtue is morality excellence. Personal virtues are characteristics Value as promoting individual and collective well-being, and thus Goodness and value theory by definition....

Footnotes