Moral Courage - Research Paper Example

Courage “Courage is not the absence of fear, but rather the judgement that something else is more important than fear” - Samuel Johnson. Introduction Courage has long been the virtue associated with heroism and its importance is found in the ancient writings of Plato and Aristotle. All the major philosophers had their own idea of courage which was more or less related to bravery and fortitude. The different types of courage have long been disputed and it is argued that the physical form of courage is most superior of them all. This paper will try to prove this common believe that physical courage is the highest virtue wrong and explain why moral virtue is more powerful than the physical one. The paper begins with a discussion on courage that includes different definitions of courage. This helps in developing a better understanding of the term. The paper then explains the different types of courage, such as political, religious, emotional, etc. This part helps in understanding why physical and moral forms of courage are given more importance over others. The paper then includes a detailed discussion on physical and moral courage. Following that a comparison is made between the physical and moral courage that explains why one is more powerful than the other and highlights the disadvantages of physical courage. In the end of the paper, a conclusion is given that sum up the paper and highlights the important points mentioned earlier. Courage The term courage is defined as “the quality of mind or spirit that enables a person to face difficulty, danger, pain, etc., without fear” (Dictionary, 2010). Courage is also defined as “boldness” and “braveness” (Thesaurus, 2010). This implies that courage is a heroic trait that has no room for fear and cowardice. The idea, however, sounds a little unrealistic as we all have fears and insecurities. It won’t be wrong to say that there is not a single person alive who has absolutely no fear and is not scared of anything at all. Since it is impossible to have no fear, the definition of courage of courage is not merely confined to having no fear but it goes beyond that. Courage is “a mental or moral strength to venture, persevere, and withstand danger, fear, or difficulty” (Merriam-Webster, 2010). Courage is the ability in a person to face his fears and fight with them. Luciz Raatma writes in her book that “courage is the strength to do the right thing even if it is hard...courageous people stand up for their beliefs” (Raatma, 2000, p. 5). It is because of this brave nature of courage that it is a highly admired trait. Even though the trait sounds extremely heroic and one gets the impression that only a strong and brave person is capable of being courageous it is in fact not true. Courageous acts are performed by ordinary people in everyday life. One has to be courageous not only with self, but also with family and friends as they may not always agree with ones ideas and beliefs. Before a person can face the society, s/he has to face him or herself and accept the fears and beliefs and then let other know about it. Types of Courage Courage is the ability to face fear and to overcome fear (Sutherland, 1996). Since there are different kinds of fears, courage too is of different types and is not only physical as is generally believed. Courage may be political, religious, emotional, physical, or moral; however, courage is not limited to these mentioned types. Everyone at some point in his life performs all these types of courageous acts. Political Courage Plato was a great advocate of political courage and believed it to be a great virtue (Rabieh, 2006). He even preached that the political courage of citizens is crucial for any nation to survive and was more important than justice itself as justice is dependent on the survival of the nation which depends on the courage of the citizens of a nation who are willing to give up everything for its survival (Rabieh, 2006). Political courage is given much importance in today’s society and people who show this type of courage are greatly admired and considered to be national heroes, such as Abraham Lincoln, Winston Churchill, Mahatma Gandhi, etc. Religious Courage Courage is given much importance in all the major religions of the world making it a godly trait. Many examples of religious courage can be found in the major religions of the world, especially in Hinduism (Hood, Hill, & Spilka, 2009). Many religious figures gave their lives for what they believed in while the virtue of courage is strictly prescribed for the second highest cast of the Hindu religion in the Bhagavad Gita (Hood, Hill, & Spilka, 2009, p. 430). Examples of religious courage can also be found in real life, such as Mother Teresa who did everything she could to achieve her goals and faced much difficulty and hardship throughout her life for what she believed in. In many religions of the world, the believers are advised to face their difficulties with courage which gives the trait a kind of piousness and godliness, making it admirable and divine (Hood, Hill, & Spilka, 2009). Emotional Courage Emotional courage is perhaps the most important type of courage as it is essential to achieve any goal and overcome fear. According to David Byrd, the president of Leadership Management, Inc., people who are unable to develop the “power of emotional courage” are not likely to achieve personal success as they are never able to get out of their “apathetic comfort zone” (Byrd, 2010). Emotional courage may be defined as the “personal, conditioned capacity to respond with positive actions rather than negative beliefs to all life events” (Byrd, 2010). In simple words, emotional courage is the ability of a person to face failure and move on with life rather than just giving up, the ability to take risks, take responsibility for his or her actions, etc. All these acts require emotional courage. Physical Courage Courage is often associated with physical strength and perhaps is a more prominent form of bravery and boldness. Physical courage is the ability to face dangers and fears and physically struggle to do so. Physical courage means having readiness to overcome physical harm and face the threat of death. Physical courage is often projected in movies and books. Most of the time, it is the main character that displays physical courage and wins in the end. This is the reason why physical courage is much more associated with heroism than any other kind of courage. Physical courage requires strength and health. But this would mean that a weak person is not capable of showing physical courage and that it is only the virtue of the physically strong individual. This idea of physical courage is in fact wrong. Physical courage may be demonstrated by anyone according to his or her capabilities. Even though physical courage is often demonstrated by showing a strong person physically defeating his or her opponent in a battle, it is not the only form of physical courage. A person who fights cancer also demonstrates a kind of physical courage. Physical courage, however, remains the virtue of the strong and powerful. The consequences of physical courage are severe and may result in death or a permanent injury. It is because of this reason that physical courage is the most admired form of courage. The soldiers fighting in battles show physical courage and are much admired by their fellow citizens. It is because of this physical courage that they are called martyr when they lose their lives fighting for their country. It takes a lot of courage and strength to jeopardize one’s own life for other people and country which is the reason why soldiers are given much honour and are considered to be great heroes. The situations where physical courage is required are not ordinary events but are dangerous situation where most people choose to run away. Only a person who has physical courage is able to face that moment and survive it. The reason why physical courage is idealized in most of the cultures is that it requires the person to face the dangers that most people are not willing to face. Physical courage has long been admired in different culture and is an ancient virtue. Aristotle too believed that that the highest form of courage is the physical one and talks about it in great detail in his work Nicomachean Ethics. He specifically highlights the physical courage that it takes to fight a battle and face death that will result from the battle (Irwin, 1985). He specifically mentions that courage is not facing the fear of death while dying of a disease or some accident, but facing the fear of death in the battle is the noblest of all and worthy of courage (Irwin, 1985). He writes that “circumstances which bring out courage are those in which a man can show his prowess or where he can die a noble death, neither of which is true of death by drowning or disease” (Ostwald, 1962, p. 1115b1). Thus it is clear that for Aristotle, the physical courage shown in the battles is much greater than the physical courage shown in any other situation. Moral Courage “It is curious that physical courage should be so common in the world and moral courage so rare” – Mark Twain. Moral courage is the courage to do the right thing and stand up for ones beliefs even when the whole world is against it. Moral courage is much different from the physical courage as it requires an individual to take a moral stand (Miller, 2005). It takes more courage to speak the truth when no one wants to hear it than to fight against the enemy. Moral courage is the courage to do the right thing and stand up for ones beliefs when no one else is willing to take a moral stand. The opposing force in the moral courage is strong and the consequences are that of shame and discouragement. The history is full of examples of moral courage and it is evident from these examples that strength alone is not a heroic trait but standing up for ones beliefs and bravely facing the popular opposition too is a very courageous thing to do. A very good example of moral courage is that or Rosa Parks who is now known as the “mother of the civil rights movement” (Brinkley, 2000). In December 1955, Mrs Parks refused to obey the order of the bus driver to give up her seat to a white passenger (American Academy of Achievement, 2005). Back in those days such an act was against the law and could result in imprisonment but Rosa Parks stood for what she believed in, i.e. freedom, and acted accordingly. It required a lot of courage to do such a thing at that time since the African American still did not have full rights. The actions of Rosa Parks sparked much opposition and debates and then resulted in the citywide boycott of the system of the buss by all the African Americans (American Academy of Achievement, 2005). John McCain explains moral courage in his book, Why Courage Matters, and says “physical courage is often needed to overcome our fear of the consequences of failure, moral courage, more often than not, confronts the fear of the consequences of our success” (McCain & Salter, 2004, p. 90). It can be said that often moral courage results in facing physical harm as the consequence of the success of the moral courage (Miller, 2005). For instance, Martin Luther King Jr. Stood up for his beliefs and demonstrated great moral courage but he would not have done so if he were a physical coward. He was well aware of the consequences of his actions but he stood up and faced all the opposition and gave his life for the cause that he believed in. Therefore, it can be said that moral courage too requires an amount of physical courage as standing up for beliefs may result in physical harm. Physical Courage vs. Moral Courage “Courage is what it takes to stand up and speak; courage is also what it takes to sit down and listen” – Winston Churchill. It will be wrong to say that physical courage is more heroic than the moral courage or vice versa as both these form of courage require facing the fear of opposition and the resulting consequences. In fact, physical and moral courage are somewhat inter-related since physical courage requires the moral courage to stand up and face the physical harm instead of running away while one must have the physical courage to face the consequences of moral courage. Even though physical courage is often presented as the superior form of courage, moral courage remains an equally important virtue. The reason for this is that not all ordinary people have the chance to fight in battles and defeat the enemy and one does not get to encounter such events in everyday life. In everyday life, it is moral courage that is needed to survive. Contrary to the teachings of Aristotle, James D. Wallace argues that courage does not have a particular motive and may even come from an un-virtuous motive (Cunningham, January 1985). He uses the examples to prove his point such as the “glorification of pirates and the thieves’ code of honour” (Cunningham, January 1985, p. 98). An un-virtuous person may be physically courageous and so the trait is not only confined to the heroes of the society. For instance, it took physical courage for the terrorists of the 9/11 attacks to carry out their plan, but their acts are still not labelled as courageous and they referred to as cowards. Anybody who commits a crime has to have a certain amount of physical courage to carry out such acts. It is this factor of physical courage that gives moral courage advantage over it. Rielle Miller writes that there are five components of moral courage, “presence and recognition of moral situation, moral choice, behaviour, individuality, and fear” (Miller, 2005, p. 20). A person who demonstrates moral courage has a certain sense of responsibility and moral values that s/he believes in and fights for. While physical courage may be demonstrated by anyone who has physical strength, moral courage is the virtue of someone who has certain values that enable him or her to recognize a morally challenging situation. While physical courage is demonstrated by both, the hero and the villain, in the battle, moral courage is a virtue that only a morally aware and socially responsible person can possess. Therefore, it can be said that moral courage is more powerful and virtuous than physical courage. Conclusion   There comes a point in everyone’s life where is becomes necessary to take a courageous stand or make a courageous decision. People do courageous thing every day, such as a person who is afraid of water learns how to swim and people who are afraid of heights try bungee jumping to overcome their fears. These little acts of courage are what make the lives interesting and worthwhile. In order to be successful in life, one must have the physical and moral courage to make decisions and stand by those decisions. Success cannot be achieved by only have physical or moral courage, but actually requires a blend of both. As far as the more powerful form of courage is concerned, moral courage seems to have an advantage over physical courage. Although physical courage has long been admired and its examples are found in ancient times and in different religion, it is not confined to the virtuous man. It remains a virtue that may be acquired by anyone who as the will to become physically strong. During the WWII physical courage was demonstrated by all the countries involved but it did not do any good to anyone nor did it make the tyrants and dictators virtuous. It is the moral courage it took for the leaders to end the war and maintain peace. It was not the physical courage that saved many lives but the moral courage that ended the war. And so it can be concluded, that moral courage is somewhat superior to the physical courage. References American Academy of Achievement. (2005, October). Rosa Parks. Retrieved November 23, 2010, from American Academy of Achievement: http://www.achievement.org/autodoc/page/par0pro-1 Brinkley, D. (2000). Rosa Parks. Published Online: The New York Times Company. Byrd, D. (2010). Overcoming Apathy with the Power of Courage. Retrieved November 23, 2010, from The Leading Edge Publishing: http://www.theleadingedgepublishing.com/pressArticles/bk_trippt5.pdf Cunningham, S. B. (January 1985). The Courageous Villain: A needless paradox. The Modern Schoolman, 62 , 97-110. Dictionary. (2010). Courage. Retrieved November 22, 2010, from Dictionary: http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/courage Hood, R. W., Hill, P. C., & Spilka, B. (2009). The Psychology of Religion: An Empirical Approach. New York: The Guildford Press. Irwin, T. (1985). Nicomachean Ethics by Aristotle. Indianapolis: Hackett Publishing Company. McCain, J., & Salter, M. (2004). Why Courage Matters. New York: Random House. Merriam-Webster. (2010). Courage. Retrieved November 22, 2010, from Merriam-Webster: http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/courage Miller, R. (2005, March). Moral Courage: Definition and Development. Retrieved November 23, 2010, from Ethics Resource Center: http://www.ethics.org/files/u5/Moral_Courage_Definition_and_Development.pdf Ostwald, M. (1962). Aristotle. Nicomachean Ethics. Indianapolis: The Bobbs-Merrill Company, Inc. Raatma, L. (2000). Courage. Minnesota: Capstone Press. Rabieh, L. R. (2006). Plato and the virtue of courage. Baltimore, Maryland: The Johns Hopkins University Press. Sutherland, I. E. (1996). Technology and Courage. Retrieved November 23, 2010, from SunLabs: http://labs.oracle.com/techrep/Perspectives/smli_ps-1.pdf Thesaurus. (2010). Courage. Retrieved November 22, 2010, from Thesaurus: http://thesaurus.com/browse/courage Read More