The Psychology of Courage: Exploring Definitions, Types, and Examples

This essay explores the multifaceted concept of courage, defining it as the strength of spirit that helps individuals overcome fears while engaging in significant activities. It discusses various forms of courage, including physical, moral, intellectual, and emotional courage, as well as the courage of empathy. The essay highlights that courage is not merely the absence of fear but the triumph over it, exemplified by firefighters and Paralympics athletes. It also emphasizes the importance of motivations and values behind courageous actions, arguing that courage without conscience is meaningless, as illustrated by the example of terrorists. The essay concludes that true courage involves good intentions and motivations, enabling individuals to face difficulties, pain, danger, and even death threats, ultimately defining it as the ability to confront one's fears. Desklib provides students access to similar essays and study resources.

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COURAGE
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Courage can be defined as the strength of the spirit that helps people in getting rid of
fears while performing dangerous and significant activities. Although, courage can be described
as an inherent quality of few people, many studies argue that there is no direct connection
between courage and inherited traits. Courage and bravery can be compared to the muscles of
the body (Palmer, 2017). Just as constant training can help in the enhancement and development
of muscles, similarly bravery and courage can also be developed in many individuals as per the
debates. Human actions are considered to be more substantial than the different circumstances.
Courage can sometimes also be reflected in certain not-so-important aspects in the everyday
lives (Chockalingam & Norton, 2018). It can be manifested from mighty events like when an
individual risks his own life to save another life to even smaller situations when a teenager
confesses his own fault. When a child becomes successful in understanding that his misdeed
entails his punishment but still tells the truth, it shows courage. It can be also considered as
demonstration of fortitude.
Courage can also be explained as the conscious overcoming of any forms of discomfort
despite the expected unpleasant worry as well as the possible risks it brings. Many of the studies
suggest that courage is the life strategy that helps in avoiding unfavorable environments evoking
fear and other different types of negative feelings. Therefore, it can be explained that different
specialists have different points of view regarding courage and bravery. One of them can be
described as the physical courage, which mainly explains the willingness to overcome painful
corporal sensations (Gibson, 2018). Another form of courage is the moral courage that involves
availability of strength to protect one’s own rights, opinions as well as beliefs despite different
types of social norms and views. Another form of courage is called the intellectual courage,
which can be described as the readiness for asserting one’s own concept and develop it against

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such attribute even by going against disappointments and negative responses of the society.
Many of the studies have also discussed about the emotional courage that can describe the
capacity of expressing feelings and wishes regardless of fear of being rejected by different types
of associates (Comer & Vega, 2015).Courage of empathy is another form of courage. It mainly
describes the willingness for empathizing people despite being fearful of being trapped by the
emotions of the subject.
Courage is indeed a very difficult concept to explain, as there are various facets to the
understanding of the meaning of courage and its subsequent utilization to describe different
situations. One of the most common displays of courage is when an individual chooses to
perform In spite of harboring fear of the taking up such tasks. This is considered to be the most
used concept of courage. This can explained with the help of examples. Service providers like
firefighters who risk their lives in crisis situations often need to show immense valor and shield
their fear. Similarly adventure activities like skydiving do spike up the adrenaline rush. .
Therefore courage in this sense not entirely depended upon the skill of being fearless but mainly
depends on triumphing the fears despite of being afraid (Gini, 2015). Another similar aspect can
be seen in situations where the individuals are seen to persevere even in the faces of great
adversities. This can be explained with the help of an example of the Paralympics athletes.
Paralympics athletes are seen to work in way by which they can overcome their disability and
thereby excel in their own lives. This can be based on the somewhatdissimilar take on the
thought of physical courage or gallantry. It is not entirely the concept that the individual is very
much terrified but that they are facing a dangerous confront, which the less courageous people
might see as impossible (Hawkins & Morse, 2014). Another disparity on this is the courage that
takes the shape of facing different types of misery with grace as well as directly. The ways an

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individual react in different strenuous as well as terrible situations can tell us volumes about the
character as well as about those individuals who are able to face disgrace, deprivation as well as
suffering and still keep their self-possession – all could be deemed to be having great bravery.
Courage is not always about physical aspects. Often people can see many examples in
their surroundings where individuals show the courage to follow their dreams even knowing that
the risks in achieving the dreams can result in financial or emotional drain-outs. This type of
courage can be well observed in the cases of pioneering entrepreneurs like that of Steve jobs and
Walt Disney. Again, another form of courage can be also noticed. Many individuals are seen to
be extremely courageous when they stand up for what they believe is to be right and just
(Magnano et al., 2017). This might often include speaking up against any forms of injustice
Some of the most famous individuals who have shown this form of courage are Nelson Mandela
(Rose, 2017). Another such example of a courageous figure is Martin Luther king. Participants in
different studies have accepted that one indeed needs courage to speak up their mind, when their
opinion is in the minority.
Another form of courage can be also seen in individuals who try to step out of their
comfort zone and then explore new horizons. It is indeed true that if not all the explorers and
adventurers showed their courage and bravery, there would not have been many great aspects
that would not have been discovered about the world in which we survive. Another example can
be used in this scenario (Kramer & Zinbarg, 2018). Christopher Columbus was one of the first
explorers who had challenged the concepts that the world was flat. It would have been very
difficult for the present world if he would not have taken the courage to set sail towards the
horizon without thinking for his fate at that time. It had indeed taken great courage for him to

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leave the familiar world and his comfort and safety and set sail to new places which he was not
himself very sure to have been exiting in the world.
Another important aspect to courage needs to be discussed. Courage can be seen in the
times of struggles as well as wars but many a times the intentions that are seen to exist behind
the different actions are overlooked. Therefore, it needs to be stated that value of courage does
not lie in the act itself but also in the motivations and values that lie behind the intentions. Only
possessing the value of being brave might not constitute the trait of courage. When an act is
performed which has no thought behind it, it might lose the value (Brown, 2015). Robert Green
Ingersoll had stated a famous quote "Courage without conscience is a wild beast." It can be well
understood that the author had tried to explain that an individual need to give certain thoughts
towards an action before they can act upon it successfully. When there is no thought or
conscience, the action can be stated to be untimely as well as uncontrolled as like that of the
wild-beast. If an individual wants to show his courage and enters into the cage of tigers to fight
with the tigers, it would result in an inevitable death (Philips & Lindsay, 2017). This can be
considered as rash action, is considered to be lacking conscience as well as concept of right and
wrong, and cannot exhibit courage.
Experts state that good intentions as well as motivations should be fueling courageous
actions. One of the British author namely Samuel Johnson has been seen to state, "Bravery has
no place where it can avail nothing." If one tries to simplify that statement, it can be seen that
courage or bravery can be considered worthless as well as unnecessary if the outcome does not
prove to be beneficial (Georges, 2018). This can be explained with the help of an example. The
terrorists who conducted the September 11tragedy can never be considered courageous in the
nation of the United States. The actions of the terrorists are seen to cause grief as well as sorrow

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among the citizens of the nation resulting in huge destruction and suffering of the people.
Nothing positive is seen to result from their actions and therefore the nation of the United States
and her allies are mainly seen to look upon this as the cowardly actions.
Courage can be explained as the motivations as well as thoughts that can be seen to exist
within the action. When these attributes are seen to be not existing, the value of courage would
be seen to be lost (Papardoupolulas et al., 2016). It can be seen that the terrorists of the
September 11 tragedy as well as the boys who entered the tiger’s cage indeed necessitate nerves.
They still cannot be considered to as the courageous or be given the title of brave because of the
complete absence of motivation as well as value needed to be present behind their actions. Even
if the bravery of one’s individual does not turn out to be effective, others will definitely be able
to understand that right intentions existed. True courage can be recognized successfully in that
concept (Kulju et al., 2016).
From the above discussion, it can be seen that while courage is usually explained as
acting and performing tasks, it is a much more multifaceted attitude. It entirely depends upon the
individual about the situation in which he or she is present and accordingly, the individual will
have the occasion in demonstrating courage in a number of ways. That might include taking a
stand and speaking out against unfairness or might be physically overcoming something that
might cause fearful response (May et al., 2014). Another attribute is that possessing courage
mainly involves more aspects than being simply being brave. The motivations as well as
thoughts that are seen to exist within the particular action can be defined as the courage and this
should be with good intensions as well as motivations. Without motivation and good intentions,
the value of courage in any action can be lost. Therefore, courage can be used as a term used in
defining the trait of the character with the help of which the individual develops the will to face

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difficulties, pain, and danger as well as death threat. In short, it can be defined as the ability of
the persons to face his fears.

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References:
Brown, B. (2015). Daring greatly: How the courage to be vulnerable transforms the way we live,
love, parent, and lead. Penguin.
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Georges, S. A. (2018). Honor, Courage, Commitment: Navy Recruitment Posters in World War
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Positive Psychology, 1-10.
Kulju, K., Stolt, M., Suhonen, R., & Leino-Kilpi, H. (2016). Ethical competence: A concept
analysis. Nursing ethics, 23(4), 401-412.

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Magnano, P., Paolillo, A., Platania, S., & Santisi, G. (2017). Courage as a potential mediator
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May, D. R., Luth, M. T., & Schwoerer, C. E. (2014). The influence of business ethics education
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