The Definition and Requirements of Courage - Essay Example

Courage The criteria for courage are wide and varied, yet with a common thread, whether on an ancient battlefield or in a family crisis. To have courage, one must: 1. Take decisive action in the face of fear or danger. 2. Be willing to let go of the familiar. 3. Have the strength of character to move forward in spite of detractors. It is decidedly easier to analyze an entire phrase or idea than it is to reduce the concept of "courage" to its basic components. The definition and requirements of courage vary from individual to individual and culture to culture. Many arguments regarding courage have raged about in the media and in discourses and debates; differing ideologies collide and make for thought provoking conversations, yet in the end, one's own definition of courage remains intact as new ideas are digested into its structure. This in and of itself is courage. Or is it We usually look at courage from the standpoint of heroism, extraordinary actions of valor in a moment of crisis such as the actions of Londoners helping Londoners in the recent bombings, the emergency personnel and ordinary citizens in the 9/11 terrorist attacks in New York and the uncountable actions of our forebears in this country who were determined to protect their homeland. Yet courage is most often unseen, unknown outside of the individual, and even discounted by the person who has exercised it. The idea of courage is simple, and contained within its simplicity are innumerable layers of degree. We can examine courage on the level of the physical, psychological or spiritual yet in every layer there exists the essence of courage, which we will attempt to prove in this essay. Let us first look at the very definition of courage: "mental or moral strength to venture, persevere, and withstand danger, fear, or difficulty" (Mirriam-Webster dictionary). We take note of the words "mental" and "moral." This is the very difference between a simple act of survival in the face of danger and the decision to face the danger itself, whether physical or psychological (moral). According to numerous studies, the root fear of humanity is expulsion from society. We are social animals with a tendency toward interdependence. In our modern age, we face the danger of one kind of rejection or other in our daily lives. This is amply demonstrated across the social spectrum from Royalty to the poor; public opinion matters greatly on every stratum of class. To put one's standing in jeopardy in the workplace, in the public eye or in the family is a grave, possible consequence of courage. The loss of employment, social status or family ties is a very real threat; this is where courage is delineated from brashness or reckless behavior. Courage, therefore, involves a very real assessment of potential hazards and consequences before the action is executed. The act of courage displays itself in a spectrum of intensity, yet it does not require that other people (including the individual who commits the courageous act) acknowledge the result. As before stated, the very concept of courage is different in different cultures. One example would the modern suicide bombers who are convinced that by bringing the 'infidels' to a halt they are dying for a cause and will take their rightful place with Allah upon completing their act. To those of us who do not subscribe to this mind-set, we see such people as terrorists who have been brainwashed into actions that no civilized person would commit. To take one's own life for a cause such as this does not define courage in our culture. In another example, in a disaster that involves flying debris a mother throws herself over her child and perishes in the act but saves the child. Our culture would define this as 'decisive action in the face of fear or danger.' Let us look for a moment at Charles, Prince of Wales. Was his marriage to Mrs. Parker-Bowles an act of courage Many would say it was, under the criterion of "having the strength to move forward in spite of detractors." This is where courage is hidden and may remain hidden within the individual never to be seen in an observable behavior to be praised by others. As we have developed into a civilized society, we have had the luxury/misfortune of turning inward, becoming more self-centered or self-absorbed. Rarely to any of us have the opportunity to openly demonstrate courage unless a crisis develops where we must choose to render assistance or run away. The 18th century Scottish philosopher David Hume pointed out that "Courage, of all national qualities, is the most precarious; because it is exerted only at intervals" ("Of National Characters," part I, essay XXI, p. 212). Here we might even go as far as to ask if we are being pressured into courage we don't individually have by being continually reminded of daily acts of heroism under spectacular circumstances via our media. If one acts heroically because he is afraid not to, is it courage Not in the face of our criteria here. This individual is concerned with detractors and has to weigh the lesser fear. Now we come to certain virtues which are commonly seen as companions to and a balance for courage: Concentration, Confidence, Passion and Values. A company called ComposiTEAM (http://www.fearlessleadership.com) has succinctly outlined courage and its balancing virtues by presenting their false counterparts. As is popularly said, bravery and stupidity have an ultra fine line between them. Bravado compensating for lack of confidence is not courage and will quickly be seen for what it is. By the same token, confidence itself has two sides; one is the solid confidence that expects a satisfactory outcome based on experience, education and success. The other is fantasy-based and the product of denial or ignorance (ComposiTEAM). To quote the celebrated author/poet Maya Angelou, "Without courage you cannot practice any of the other virtues." (http://www.quoteworld.org) Indeed, this would appear to be true. In all stages of life we must demonstrate some level of courage. Courage seems to be the very nucleus of all other traits. Elusive as it is to contain, courage is as solid as the densest of materials yet without its companions it is incomplete and even dangerous. It is potent in that it is the fuel that pushes us beyond our limits in an instant yet remains evasive when we are called upon to summon it unless it has become our constant companion. Because courage is announced and focused upon much in media and literature, it is easy to assume that a person commended for courage is always courageous. Nothing could be further from the truth. Like the virtues of compassion, confidence, honesty, trustworthiness and dignity (to name a few), courage must be explored, used, exercised and developed with the integrity and discretion that is appropriate for the individual. Psychological courage is fascinating, for it requires a level of awareness that seems to be above the norm. To change one's mind, opinion, or life habits requires first the awareness that a change is in order; then begins the process of going about making the changes, even if they are only internal. While we do live in a world that prefers empirical demonstrations, the inner world of the mind is where courage has an opportunity to be a constant. Since the mind is both the barrier and the gateway to the corporeal world, we cannot discount the acts of courage that take place within it, hidden from the observation of others and in the quiet of contemplative thought. Where, we may ask, does psychological courage fit in with the criteria Thought is action. Choices are decisive actions. Thousands of choices a day are made in each individual mind; some of them are effortless and therefore easily forgotten, but what about those "gut feelings" Somehow, in the moment, we are know that something isn't right yet we don't know how we know. We have two choices: Ignore it or address it. The experience of most people is that when the feeling is ignored, there is a price to pay later. But courage comes into play when we give attention to the feeling and remain watchful whether or not we confront the situation verbally. Very often, our society shuns action based on "gut feelings," yet circumstantial proof is abundant that this level of awareness is valid. Most often we don't follow it for fear of being wrong (which takes us to criteria #3 in our list). Imminent danger is not always a requirement for fear and therefore, yet in our minds we harbor fear and a sense of danger is very real. Rarely does courage restrict itself to life-threatening situations. When we experience psychological difficulties or a "spiritual crisis," courage is required to arrive at a point of resolution or management. The stresses that we feel internally are often borne of fear due to not knowing what the consequences of change will be. It does seem that courage is a factor of experience; the more we know, the better we do. The methods by which we move through or past our fear are as individual as courage itself. Yet in order to truly move through a fear, one must have the courage to acknowledge that the fear is there. Yet fear itself wears as many masks as courage. An old adage says that without fear, there cannot be courage. Courage is cultivated by the presence of fear, as well as encounters with it. In his book "Pudd'head Wilson (1894), celebrated author Mark Twain wrote, "Courage is resistance to fear, mastery of fear - not absence of fear." Both fear and courage are part of the human condition. We are creatures with inborn fears that guarantee our survival, and just about everything beyond that is learned. Each of us has our own set of experiences with both. Ultimately, it seems that each of us must come to terms with ourselves if we are to know courage; we must examine and understand our own unique relationship with fear in order to grow. For every individual, there is a facet of courage. It is perennial yet permanent and the key ingredient for positive change in any individual, group, society or civilization. This quote by C. S. Lewis sums it up very well: "Courage is not simply one of the virtues, but the form of every virtue at the testing point." References Angelou, Maya (African-American author, poet laureate, performer, composer), Quoteworld.org http://www.quoteworld.org/search.phpthetext=courage, p. 1 (August 15, 2005) Hume, David (1711-1776), Scottish philosopher. "Of National Characters," part I, essay XXI, p. 212, Essays Moral, Political, and Literary, ed. Eugene F. Miller, revised edition, Indianapolis, Liberty Fund, Inc. (1987) Franois, Duc De La Rochefoucauld (1613-1680), French writer, moralist. repr. F.A. Stokes Co., New York (c. 1930). "Moral Maxims and Reflections", no. 216 (1665-1678), trans. London , 1706 Leadership Style and Motivational Map from CompositTEAM http://www.fearlessleadership.com/team/balance.htm (August 15, 2005) Twain, Mark [Samuel Langhorne Clemens] (1835-1910), U.S. author. "The Tragedy of Pudd'nhead Wilson", Hartford American Publishing Company, 1894. Found online, http://www.mtwain.com/The_Tragedy_of_Pudd'nhead_Wilson/ , Ch. 12, sentence 1. Read More