Courage

Courage (also called bravery, valour (British and Commonwealth English), or valor (American English)) is the choice and willingness to confront agony, pain, danger, uncertainty, or intimidation. Valor is courage or bravery, especially in battle.

Physical courage is bravery in the face of physical pain, hardship, even death, or threat of death; while moral courage is the ability to act rightly in the face of popular opposition, shame, scandal, discouragement, or personal loss.

The classical virtue of fortitude (andreia, fortitudo) is also translated as "courage", but includes the aspects of perseverance and patience. In the Western tradition, notable thoughts on courage have come from philosophers Socrates, Plato, Aristotle, Aquinas, and Kierkegaard; as well as Christian beliefs and texts.

In the Hindu tradition, mythology has given many examples of courage; with examples of both physical and moral courage exemplified. In the Eastern tradition, the Chinese text Tao Te Ching offers a great deal of thoughts on courage; both physical and moral.

According to Professor Daniel Putman, "courage involves deliberate choice in the face of painful or fearful circumstances for the sake of a worthy goal". With this realization, Putman concludes that "there is a close connection between fear and confidence". Fear and confidence in relation to courage can determine the success of a courageous act or goal. They can be seen as independent variables in courage, and their relationship can affect how we respond to fear. The confidence that is being discussed here is self-confidence; confidence in knowing one's skills and abilities and being able to determine when to fight fear or when to flee it. Putman states that: "The ideal in courage is not just a rigid control of fear, nor is it a denial of the emotion. The ideal is to judge a situation, accept the emotion as part of human nature and, we hope, use well-developed habits to confront the fear and allow reason to guide our behavior toward a worthwhile goal."

According to Putman, Aristotle refers to an appropriate level of fear and confidence in courage. "Fear, although it might vary from person to person, is not completely relative and is only appropriate if it 'matches the danger of the situation'". The same goes for confidence in that there are two aspects to self-confidence in a dangerous situation:

Without an appropriate balance between fear and confidence when facing a threat, one cannot have the courage to overcome it. Professor Daniel Putman states "if the two emotions are distinct, then excesses or deficiencies in either fear or confidence can distort courage". Courage does not mean that you are not afraid, it means that you are willing to face the challenges that lay ahead of you.

According to Putman, there are four possible ways courage could be distorted: