For these psychologists, they break down courage into 4 parts

bravery
persistence
integrity
vitality

The total 6 main virtues are wisdom, courage, humanity, justice, temperance, transcendence. Goes in line with virtue ethics, in contrast to deontology or consequentialism. Also, some fundamental understanding of existential philosophy helps a great deal.

I know what you mean.

In this day and age, where do we have an opportunity to express our courage? Life is for the most part molly coddled and easy. Intellectual courage? You need to have an original idea to defend. Physical courage? Someone has to attack you, or another, before that can be displayed. Moral courage? That is perhaps the easiest courage to display today.

But with moral courage, you need absolute certainty that you are in the right. Certainty you may not have except in retrospect. In those circumstances, courage is only recklessness, my take is that courage without knowledge is recklessness.

One has to find a place in life which will allow them to express courage within any of these spheres. It will not come to those which do not seek it out. Life is too easy these days.

Mike Mailman

Every time i feel a little down, just a visit here makes me cheer up.

Keep up with the good work guys!

Thanks heaps,

Had Gerard Butler had a wife and kids to care for, then his decision would have been reckless and not courageous.

As far as taking steps to be more courageous overall, why not make an effort to become totally honest with what you are thinking and feeling with everyone, all the time.

That doesn’t mean you have to be insulting and rude, you can plead the 5th whenever you don’t want to respond to someone (you could be honest still and say “honestly I don’t want to answer that question/give my opinion” for ex.) , but always be honest with what you want and never lie or put up a false front.

I know so many guys that lie over really stupid things, and the more I see it the sadder it gets. It shocks me how guys lie to wives or g/f’s about their smoking habits, or where they are at the moment (often at normal places like a bar, or stopping somewhere after work). It’s just crazy!

It takes a lot courage to be completely honest with yourself and everyone else, and I think its one of the best places to start. But I’ve seen it really change things…

I once approached this beautiful Portuguese girl in a club and said to her “Hey I think you’re stunning and I really want to say something cool, but I’m too nervous because your beauty intimidates me”

Her response was priceless!

She basically said that was really flattered and never heard anything like that before. She told me she was already seeing someone, but “you’ve got balls!” Even my friends looking from a distance could tell she was really excited. I didn’t pursue her from then on, but I was told throughout the night from then on she was looking at me a lot (looking excited).

It changed my perspective forever. All I did was just say what i was thinking, totally honest and upfront, but my emotions were going off like a fire alarm! But I believed it was the right thing to do and my fears were not going to stop me. Since then life has become much richer relationship-wise (and in other ways too). Seems like the truth will set you free.

I thought about what Batman said at the end of the Dark Knight, that “Sometimes, truth isn’t good enough. Sometimes, people deserve more. Sometimes, people deserve to have their faith rewarded”

I think he’s wrong about that. Instead I say…

At all times, the truth is the good enough. People deserve more of it, and in time, our faith in the truth will be rewarded.

Although I agree it can be disheartening, but while I can’t speak for every circumstance or inspirational leader, more often than not there’s dirt beneath the roses. Just like a few bad things shouldn’t overshadow the good things someone does, a few good things should never overshadow the bad. We should take note, learn from it, and move on.

he was human being.

I just love the lame industry of “cutting down” inspiring individuals, especially when those individuals are (usually) people of color (like MLK)….

Its just sad, intellectually lazy and SO derivative it makes the Strokes look like Kathy Acker.

its usually lazy, angry, mean spirited white dudes. You know it, I know it.

gilrein rules.

Sometimes the odds are against us and instead of rushing headlong into total defeat it’s better to stand back and reconsider the approach.

Sometimes it’s simply not worth it, like internet arguments that lead nowhere.

And sometimes the other side is right! Hey, it can happen! It takes a big man to defend an idea, it takes an even bigger man to consider the ideas of others seriously and admit to flaws and shortcomings in our own.

@Ned Van Nostrand the fact that modern science can make better observations and thus has corrected and expanded some of Darwin’s theory does not mean he was wrong, or that he wasn’t doing science, or that he wasn’t intellectually courageous, or that his observations have been simply “discounted”.