The forums seem to be dead lately, so I’ll post here.

“If one’s sword is broken, he will strike with his hands. If his hands are cut off, he will press the enemy down with his shoulders. If his shoulders are cut away, he will bite through ten or fifteen enemy necks with his teeth. Courage is such a thing.” -Hagakure

What a depressing episode! Your primary paragons of valor are those who fight in a hopeless cause, and the more meaningless the more courageous. Yeesh. I need a drink.

Maybe the forums died heroically in an ultimately-futile struggle against the monsters of chaos, thereby earning a place of honor in Valhalla.

Returning to the psychology of virtue, we shrinks seem to take a broader view of courage, defining it in terms of the exercise of will to accomplish goals in the face of opposition, either external or internal. So non-combat expressions of courage do count as legitimate courage rather than allegories of courage. For example, In his 1956 book “Profiles in Courage,” John F. Kennedy tells the stories of several US Senators who demonstrated political courage, choosing to do what they believed to be right rather than politically advantageous. For the benefit of the country, they risked their careers. One such Senator was Edmund G. Ross. Ross opposed the policies of President Andrew Johnson, and personally disliked him. However, when Congress passed the Tenure-of-Office Act (a move by the Legislature to usurp Executive power. The Act was later overturned as unconstitutional), then used Johnson’s violation of that Act to institute impeachment proceedings, Ross recognized it as a partisan attempt to undermine the authority of the President. Ross violated the instructions of his party and the popular will of his anti-Johnson constituents, and cast a vote of “not guilty” at Johnson’s trial. The President was acquitted by one vote. Because he had sworn “to do impartial justice,” Ross lost his office, was savaged by partisan newspapers, and faced threats, insults, physical assault, and near poverty. He lived out the remainder of his career in obscurity and ostracism. His courageous act reduced him to the status of a “nobody,” but in choosing that fate, he prevented the degeneration of the United States into a Congressional oligarchy. No sudden death or combat or epic stand against the gods, but courageous nonetheless.

In addition, psychologist Salvatore Maddi has dedicated his career to a personality trait he calls “hardiness.” Hardiness is associated with better stress-resilience and coping, and Maddi defines it as a form of existential courage. A hardy person faces the anxiety of an unknowable future, commits to goals that provide a sense of purpose, and takes responsibility for rising to challenges.

Y’all mention extreme sports and question whether or not that counts as courage. I deal with this in my martial arts book, and I argue that it in fact is courage. You have to face and overcome fear in order to successfully train and compete. For example, there is a particular move (shoulder throw) that is always frightening, no matter how many times I’ve been thrown (you are briefly airborne in that throw, and that moment of out-of-control-ness never fails to scare me). I’d say it counts as courage to keep coming back to be thrown again.

Virtues grow through practice. Being courageous in small things adds up and increases the likelihood of a valorous response in higher-stakes situations.

I have to wait a week for your podcast on patience? ARGH! I can’t wait that long to learn about patience! ARGH!

Dang. I submitted a massive response, and the computer ate it. Stupid gluttonous computer.

Short version: I disagree with y’all when it comes to non-combat forms of courage. I argue that any exercise of will to achieve goals in the face of obstacles counts as legitimate courage rather than an “allegory” of courage, whether the obstacles are death, pain, ostracism, career suicide, or the existential courage required to face uncertainty and still take responsibility for one’s choices.