From MPR's Midmorning July 24, 2007, The meaning of courage:
Midmorning examines a concept that puzzled ancient Greek philosophers: defining the meaning of courage.
A perpetually interesting topic, this could be very interesting...The guest, Christopher Phillips, agreed to answer your questions in this online discussion immediately following his appearance on the show.
Hurry! Post your questions in the comments below - Christopher will be with us online between 11:00 a.m. and 11:30 a.m. CT today, 07/24/07.
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Julia Schrenkler
Minnesota Public Radio Interactive Producer
More about Christopher Phillips: He is the Founder and executive director of the nonprofit Society for Philosophical Inquiry. He is also the author of "Socrates in Love: Philosophy for a Passionate Heart" and "Socrates Cafe."
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Comments: 22
Courage, to stand for something the could mean not getting reelected into office? e.g. Curbing or reducing governement entitlements? Social security?
Do others need to know you have it? No. It is a matter of integrity (which is the basis of other values).
How common is it? Rare. Most people are not self-reflective enough to to know the importance of it.
Does it have anything to do with social norms, or making a grand action? Sometimes... but I think we need to start with ourselves and work up to the big things. I think people who do it for their own feelings of what is right, rather for the honor of having other people know, is the courage that is most impactful to society, because there are so many more instances of small choices.
Courage, in standing up for a set of principles even though it's not the easiest path or doesn't placate the masses? e.g. Taking on radical Islam and terrorism?
Courage, to stand for something the could mean not getting
reelected into office? e.g. Curbing or reducing governement entitlements? Social security?
I turned to Christopher Phillips. His reply: I usually reply with a question, so I would simply ask what those principles are? How do you know those principles principles you espouse are the ones most worth standing up for?
courage .........standing up for the things you feel and know
are right
Christopher Phillips responds:
Again I would simply ask how do you come to know and feel if this is right? There must be process you have - from education, family? Do you know it when you see it? Do you feel it when you see it? If so, how?
Courage: ACTING on the things we know are right -- in the face of unfavorable consequences. Examples: whistleblowing when you might suffer in your career , breaking up (or staying in) a relationship where you might face emotional consequences...
Do others need to know you have it? No. It is a matter of integrity (which is the basis of other values).
How common is it? Rare. Most people are not self-reflective enough to to know the importance of it.
Does it have anything to do with social norms, or making a grand action? Sometimes... but I think we need to start with ourselves and work up to the big things. I think people who do it for their own feelings of what is right, rather for the honor of having other people know, is the courage that is most impactful to society, because there are so many more instances of small choices.
Christopher Phillips returns:
I'm wondering if courage if courage always has to be going against the grain? Can it be no or more less doing your job day in and day out: as an employee, a teacher, a government employee, a parent? Just doing that job, day in and day out. Can there be quotidian courage just doing what you do every day instead of being called to do something extraordinary that stands out in some way?
The reason I ask that is I think of my school teachers who probably had dramas and troubles in their daily lives but it never carried over. Just people who in some aspect in their lives have dramas and tragedies but do the job they committed to doing without any glamour or glory. Just doing one's job.
Karina, how do you know most people are not self-reflective enough to to know the importance of it? The element of integrity involves humility. You may have done something that was difficult but keep it to yourself for reflection. To question and challenge yourself in reflection is courageous - to question if you are always acting in great integrity. Is reflection enough or does it have to be critical reflection? Challenge yourself to see if you acted with as much integrity as you thought you did.
The last thing I might say is a lot of us speak in terms of we, but does it ultimately come down to the one person who does this for themselves, maybe without the expectation that other people will join in?
It's impossible to mentally prepare for every scenario, but I think it's possible to say, ahead of time, "I will not be a passive gawker. I will do what I can to help in a situation like this."
Each time you hear a story of courage, make it your own. Take a minute or two to imagine yourself being courageous in that situation.
As a (young) philosophy instructor, I'm very interested in the project of bringing ancient philosophy together in conversation with contemporary problems for my students. Do you feel that Plato's conception of the soul (Wisdom, Courage, Temperance) is genuinely applicable to today's contemporary conception(s) of courage? Is there really a USE for this definition of courage outside mere appreciation of Plato's contributions to the field of philosophy? What are your thoughts?
Christopher Phillips' answer: I think if we simply try to replicate what Plato and Socrates did to today instead of applying it, I don't think we're doing them any favors because then we're treating philosophy as a museum piece. If you ask your students those questions about the soul and allow them to exchange with you, and perhaps juxtapose them with Plato and Socrates to develop their own philosophies then that achieves a goal. There's more opportunity to revive what they did with people in far-flung parts of the world - the internet, even in online chats or plazas.
Currently 50 colleges host Socrates cafes. That should give you a lot of heart and hope that there's room for this!
Socrates was supposed to question everything and exist outside the academic world - that can be enhanced by engaging with people in the everyday world. I think that philosophy is the one discipline that the greater variety of human experiences you're exposed to results in the greater your scholarly philosophic contributions can be.
Speaking of the soul, we need a philosophic "heatwave" to make the philosophic inquiry amongst the populace as integral as it was in the time of Athens.
Does it take courage to philosophize while walking on a NYC street? I almost got clobbered by a NYC taxi during our exchange!
I wanted you to see what real courage is, instead of getting the idea that courage is a man with a gun in his hand. It's when you know you're licked before you begin but you begin anyway and you see it through no matter what. You rarely win, but sometimes you do. (~Harper Lee, To Kill a Mockingbird)
Thanks for the insights. I have a follow up to the question about religious violence (suicide bombing, etc.) Referring to New Yorkers, you suggested that this type of "sacrifice" is not courageous because the practitioners believe they are going to heaven. Is a criterion for an act being courageous that the actor NOT believe that God will judge him/her for his/her deeds, good and bad, and furthermore that he-she not believe that his-her afterlife in heaven depends on him-her doing good deeds? Wouldn't this criterion exclude many American servicemen and civilians from the category courageous? (Given that we are a highly religious country?)
Interesting. Christopher Phillips' response:
I don't know it seems like you can be deeply religious and act courageously if by courageous you mean risk and sacrifice with the end of advancing humanity. I don't think people of the religious people of the type you're referring to have exclusivity - they're also capable of acts of barbarity or great humanity - either one. I think what matter is whether you expect a reward or not is that your acts really do demonstrably elevate humankind instead of diminish it.
Its almost understandable to point the finger at Muslim fundamentalists but consider any fundamentalists that espouse the culture of life but end up supporting circumstances that involve the lose of life. [just] caught in circumstances beyond their control. That would seem to imply that someone's religious beliefs incorporate a sense of humility and humanity - that we're all in this together. That requires a faith of a different sort, a faith in our fellow humans to do the unexpected - to transcend that - to commit acts of great good that we do do (perhaps at great risk) without expectation or hope of reward.
>Maybe. But isn't personal courage something everyone deals with? We all have our different issues, but I would say true courage has to somehow carry over. Even if it's just helping your family or colleagues -- or (in the example of someone dealing with a physical disability or chronic illness), it inspires others in some way.
>...how do you know most people are not self-reflective enough to to know the importance of it? The element of integrity involves humility...
True!! I do think it requires critical self-reflection. And I take that statement back, because I think many of us are critically self-reflective. BUT I would still say that most don't identify courage as a piece of that. So while we might reflect on decisions in our lives, I think most people think of the immediate consequences and not whether it is more important to be courageous to preserve one's integrity. For example, when your relative sacrificed his life for others rather than his family... I think most *would* think of their family first, but would they be able to live with themselves knowing that they let others die in a fire?
I'll do my best to foster a heatwave (and yeah, you're preachin' to the choir)
At the end of the radio conversation, a caller asked how we can prepare ourselves to be courageous, and said that a friend of his saved a young man who was in a burning car while a crowd on onlookers did nothing. Christopher Phillips said perhaps we can't prepare ourselves to be courageous. It might just be an innate quality. I disagree. I think we can prepare ourselves to be courageous by mentally rehearsing what we would do in a situation that calls for courage, like the one the final caller on the show described. After his call, I pictured myself encountering a burning car surrounded by gawkers, then I pictured myself pushing through the gawkers and pulling the kid out of the car, I also imagined a scenario where I might need to ask some of the frozen bystanders to give me a hand.
It's impossible to mentally prepare for every scenario, but I think it's possible to say, ahead of time, "I will not be a passive gawker. I will do what I can to help in a situation like this."
Each time you hear a story of courage, make it your own. Take a minute or two to imagine yourself being courageous in that situation.
There's two points, rachel m, I didn't say it was an innate quality, I questioned if it was. My example is the Navajos - according to their way you always sacrifice yourself to advance humanity or even the universe.
That is their ingrained belief. It is second nature, for instance, for the codetalkers in the war. They didn't think it was courageous at all. They were raised with this value from the moment they entered the world.
Now my other point is this: by mentally preparing yourself in certain scenarios you might not recognize others around you. If you just equate it with rescuing someone you might not recognize quotidian acts such as working two jobs to support your children. It cuts in many ways in that we can limit our experiences by focusing on ones that would be "most" courageous.
Would saying "hi" to my Muslim neighbors even if no one else does be courageous?
What does it imply to be mentally courageous in not just what befall us but in everyday living. Use your own imagination to find things you might not otherwise think of!
The topic is still very important, and the heart of the conversation can continue here on Gather. Please allow me to wrap up a few production ends and I'll personally return here. - Julia