Courage is somehow related to the odds of success or failure, though only in situations where failure has exceedingly negative consequences.
Courage always seems to be associated with ideology of some type, and to the "underdog" narrative. In this way it is a very personal and (in the Randian sense) selfish. In this same vein it is related to honor, which is almost entirely a social construct, meaning that in various instances the "personal ideology" could be replaced with "ideas of honor", and would make the courage much more altruistic, again in the Randian sense.
To me, it is an abstract concept, yet not overly complicated. Courage is standing up for what you know is right in the face of powerful opposition, when you stand to lose much from your stance.
__________________ He who fights with monsters might take care lest he thereby become a monster. And if you gaze for long into an abyss, the abyss gazes also into you.
Thanks for your response. It is interesting that true courage can be perceived as involving a sense of right and wrong. Here's another dilemma in defining courage: what about people who overcome a horrible sickness, or have survived after great losses in their lives? Can they be labelled courageous?
Well, it satisfies pretty much everything I said about someone being courageous....
__________________ He who fights with monsters might take care lest he thereby become a monster. And if you gaze for long into an abyss, the abyss gazes also into you.
Courage is pulling everything that is within you, everything, to stand up for what you believe in, no matter the consequences. That is what the "Purple Heart" medal was for.
Courage are those that ideas they knew wouldn't be excepted but yet made their evaluations/studies/publications, knowing they wouldn't be accepted easily. These people are very known in our history books today.
Without some peoples courage I dread what we may have become today.
__________________ Deja Moo: The feeling that you've heard this bull before.
Courage is the will to live life with honor and dignity, to treat others with respect even when they don't treat you with it, to not allow the cowards and the weak souls to bring you down to their level.
Basically, courage is living a good life and being good to other people in what some will try to convince you is a shitty world.
__________________ 'You're getting older, and you'll see that life isn't like your fairy tales. The world is a cruel place. And you'll learn that, even if it hurts.' - Carmen, Pan's Labyrinth
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Nov 26th, 2007 06:27 PM
