Thank you for instilling the value of courage in me. Aristotle would say that courage is the “mean state in relation to feelings of fear and confidence” (Nicomachean Ethics, 1115a7-8). He argues that all people experience feelings of fear, but it is the approach that they take towards the thing that they are fearful of that determines their courage. A courageous person feels fear and acts in relation to fearful things. What Aristotle has said about courage, accurately summarizes what you have taught me. Courage is needed in order to live well as a human being and to live a good life. Before supporting the idea that courage is a value that we need to live the “ideal life”, it has to be determined what this “ideal life” looks like. This …show more content…
Aristotle gives five dispositions that may resemble courage, but are not. The first of these is facing a danger because one is forced to by a law or the threat of disgrace. The next is being calm in the face of danger because one has experience and knows what the outcome may be. With this, once their knowledge and experience is no longer helpful, they are the first to lose their sense of courage and become fearful. The third disposition that Aristotle gives is being driven in one’s action by passion, such as anger, lust, or greed. Those who act based on passion have the wrong motives and may not be fully aware of the dangers involved in their actions. The next disposition is being confident in dangerous situations because of past success, but when somethings happens that they did not expect or previously occur, they are the ones that would run away. When a sudden danger occurs, one’s character is shown when they must act quickly and spontaneously. The last disposition Aristotle gives is ignorance. When someone acts unafraid simply because there are ignorant of the possible dangers that lie ahead. Although these dispositions may closely resemble courage, they do not show true …show more content…
If one has the habit of exceeding a rational level of confidence, they quickly become rash and Aristotle says that, “The rash man is considered to be both a boaster and a pretender to courage; at any rate he wishes to seem as the courageous man really is in his attitude towards fearful situations, and therefore imitates him where he can” (1115b29-33). On the contrary, one who exceeds in fearfulness is a coward. A coward not only fears the wrong thing, but also fears in the wrong way. “Thus a coward is a despondent sort of person, because he is afraid of everything; whereas the courageous man is in the opposite case, because confidence is the mark of optimism” (1116a). Meaning that a coward may be dispirited or discouraged while a courageous man is hopeful. This shows how too much or too little courage can be a vice or a weakness of
Bravery has a history that can be traced back to the first trace of humanity. Indeed, society depends on leaders that are brave.The word bravery itself lives within our everyday lives. There are times when we need leaders, courageous ones. At school, we need bravery in every classroom. Especially during the shooting of Sandy Hook,when six heroines dies to save their students. This was a time when intense bravery was needed to overcome evil. Teachers, how much will you sacrifice for your school? If an assailant shows up in your school, will you do the things that no others will do? Together, I believe, we could all be a little bit braver. If we become braver one by one, the world would be a much better place for everyone.
Q1: The argument suggests courage be defined based on, the actions of an individual and the situation they are placed in. Someone could be put into the same situation and act on the situation differently based on experience, knowledge, desperation, and the meaning of the action or situation to an individual.(192c1-3-192d7) Someone with more knowledge will act more accordingly to a difficult situation if they know what their chances are in succeeding in that action or the consequences attempting it. Courage is a representation of bravery. If someone stands up for something not only to benefit them but to
The vast majority of heroes in novels display courage frequently, making it a characteristic praised by many. Once a character demonstrates their cowardly nature, he becomes looked down upon. Those unlucky enough can be named weak, wimpy, chicken, and so forth; however many do not understand that both courage and timidness are intertwined. In the novel The Things They Carried by Tim O'Brien, the author indicates that courage can be driven by both fear and cowardice.
The virtue of fear and confidence is bravery. Just like magnanimity, bravery also has an excess and a deficiency. The vice of excess for bravery is cowardice meaning that the person is too fearful, and the vice of deficiency is rashness meaning that the person is not fearful enough. With regards to the virtue of bravery, a person should do things for the sake of what is noble.
Aristotle's ethics consist of a form of virtue ethics, in which the ethical action is that which properly complies with virtue(s) by finding the mean within each particular one. Aristotle outlines two types of virtues: moral/character virtues and intellectual virtues. Though similar to, and inspired by, Plato and Socrates’ ethics, Aristotle's ethical account differs in some areas.
s turn towards Aristotelians’ approach to defining what character and virtue mean. In Nicomachean Ethics, Aristotelian is defined. Character is about a current state of being and action. In virtue ethics “character traits are stable, fixed, and reliable dispositions.” This means that a person with a specific character trait is constant in their actions. So someone who is honest is constantly honest in any situation whether or not it is easy. We are born with “natural tendencies” that help shape our character. Our environment can mold and create our character in a positive or a negative way. As a result character is a long progress. In life we tend to look up to older people to be our role models in life. These role models help us to become
Many people confuse courage for not being scared of what could happen, Franklin D. Roosevelt once said that “Courage is not the absence of fear, but rather the assessment that something else is more important that fear.” Courage isn’t being able to act like nothing will scare you or make life more difficult, it’s the ability to realize that something will be difficult or scary and you overcome the difficulty. Courage is the ability to overcome hardship, not avoid it or create more of it to make yourself seem more
Courage is a natural “fight or flight” response that one can or cannot perform, precisely it can be as simple as someone having strength in the appearance of pain or grief. As a human service (rehabilitative service) professional having courage will often benefit me in high-stress situations and multifaceted or high-risk environments. Being in the human service profession there will be situations where I will have to be in uncomfortable or dangerous altercation, whether it is protecting a child’s welfare or exposing myself to unknown
But this isn’t the definition of courage. Courage is being able to act in the face of danger or in an uncomfortable state. Being stubborn and brash is the exact opposite, as someone acting as such may danger others and/or may be comfortable by standing alone. A prime example is shown in 12 Angry Men, as Juror 8 and Juror 3 represent courage and arrogance. At one time in the film, they both stand alone against a room full of people thinking against them, but how they act to it makes them who they are. Unlike how Juror 8 sways others individually, Juror 3 refused to act politely and focuses on himself, making others not appreciate him and seeing him as a barrier to
When someone thinks about the mean of something, usually it involves numbers or some sort of mathematical concept, but Aristotle introduces mean in a different way. He explains that to be able to have our end purpose we must find a mean between each virtuous activity that helps contribute to our end; happiness. For example the mean between courage lies between two extremes. Excessive courage is called “rashness”. Not having any courage is called “cowardice”.
In life there are many terms that are relative to individual cultures. That means that the definition is different depending on the culture's location and its persons believe. The definition for one such term, courage, as defined by both Daniel Webster and Funk & Wagnalls is "That quality of mind or spirit enabling one to meet danger or difficulties/ opposition with firmness/fearlessness." The words that make courage a relative term are danger and opposition.
Courage is not just found in the veteran soldier who can display shiny medals or in the policeman who bravely risks his life for justice as portrayed on television or in films. Suicide is the antithesis of courage. It is not an elementary school boy who agrees to fight, but he who can stand up against it. A six year old girl who ventures out on her bicycle for the first time displays as much courage as a young man who witnesses a murder and volunteers to testify in court.
I like to describe them as “loud” and “quiet” courage. People today do perform courageous acts on a daily basis but how they do them really proves who they are. Loud courage is when someone only does something courageous for personal gain, they do these things only when others are watching so that they can receive praise. Quiet courage is the opposite of that; when a person acts solely on their intention to do good and benefit others. That is the type of courage that we need today. Although these are forms of courage, there is much more to the word. Courage can be kindness, taking the lead, voicing an opinion, really anything that may be difficult or challenging to do. Every now and then a person is faced with a challenge or a complicated problem that they are fearful of and can even harm them either emotionally or physically, but a true man or woman that has courage will overcome this obstacle to pursue their inhibitions. Just like in the movie The Wizard of Oz, the lion is supposed to be the king of the jungle but is easily scared of every little thing that comes his way even though it would just be a tree or his shadow. At the end of the movie, when they find out the Wizard is a fraud, he realizes that he was courageous the whole time because of everything he did to get to the Emerald City. So being confident can play a huge role when in it comes to courage. Courage can come in all shapes and sizes but it is
The first virtue is bravery. Bravery is not only having courage in some situations but also having fear in appropriate situations. If we practice bravery throughout our life t...
Therefore, If an act were to be courageous it has to be dangerous and risky but it also has to help others. The one performing the act must be able to make split-second decisions, however, they can not follow the footsteps of other to be labeled as courageous. One must also put others life before their own. Courageous acts are not selfish and they have to meet some aspect of the criteria in order to be recognized as an act of