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The importance of courage in life
Courage : the most potent of virtues
Introduction to courage
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In the book the Lakota way: stories and lessons for living, by Joseph M Marshal III, the virtue of love, the root of all other virtues is the first virtue necessary to living a virtuous life. A life of virtue is lived by putting the needs of others first, allowing oneself to decrease so that all may be given the opportunity to thrive. The decrease of oneself is an act of humility, which cannot be done without a strong virtue of love. Love is the root of all other virtues, it is from love that humility, respect, sacrifice and honor flow. A virtuous life, lived by continually trying to strengthen the virtues is not attainable without first perfecting the virtue of love. The least significant virtue is the virtue of bravery. Bravery can be attained …show more content…
Bravery can be attained without true love and can be used for the wrong reasons, giving it the possibility of becoming a vice. Bravery can be good, and along with the virtue of fortitude, it can help warriors defend, and give others the strength to survive difficult situations. This is shown in “the Story of the Defender”, when Hoka guards the campsite and the elk kill of the day against a possible bear (141-150). In this way the virtue of bravery is used properly. However, it is also quite easy for bravery to become a vice. This can happen when one becomes arrogant - one of the vices of humility - or attains an excess of courage. This can cause one to fight just to show off skill. Another way that bravery can become a vice is when one fights an unworthy opponent, or for a cause that they do not believe in. If a brave person fights a much weaker opponent, they do not show love and mercy which are important components of a virtuous life, and must come before personal advancement and the show of power. Fighting for the wrong reasons, just to show power, or for something immoral is just as fighting an unequally matched opponent because the action of bravery cannot cancel the object of the decision, which is to fight for something one does not believe in, or be lives to be morally
This is important to have in a hero because without bravery, he could not lead and fight along with his army. Hector stood up to fight against Ajax in single combat (Sutcliff 42). Hector’s bravery makes him a hero because he is willing to fight despite the chances of him losing his life. “And Hector, seeing this, shouted the war cry like a huntsman crying on his hounds against a lion, and rushed forward at the head of his warriors, scattering the Greeks like spray.” (Sutcliff
Bravery can be showed by having strength, being willing to sacrifice, and standing up for yourself and others. Life will not be very fun if you do not try to make it fun. One has to be brave to make life fun. If one is not strong it would make it hard to be brave. If Holling was not strong then he would not have been able to play Ariel in the Shakespeare play. All of his friends showed up when he was was wearing yellow tights and feathers on his butt. He stayed strong and finished the play. “Still ringing in the hands of Danny Humfer, Meryl Lee and Mai Ti who were standing in the very front row.” (Schmidt 86) That moment was when Holling first saw all of his classmates watching him in the play. At first he only saw Danny’s parents, but then
...ir courage as they prepare. Nelson uses the example of Beowulf’s last great battle to show how even with an extensive, powerful boast of bragging and promise, his objective of slaying the dragon was not accomplished. Beowulf did in fact kill the dragon, but the problem with his boasting lies in these lines: “I shall through courage / gain gold, or battle, fierce mortal wound, / will take your king!” (2535-2537). Beowulf’s use of either-or boasting did not save his life. His initial bragging did push him to victory over the dragon, but in his second boast he claimed that he would gain from victory
Bravery is a heroic quality that everyone has and when put into action it can become deadly or even unstoppable. Martin Luther King pushed through the racism as if he had no fear of the consequences. Martin Luther King stood tall as Beowulf did when fighting Grendel for the Danes; people not his family but for those in need. They both fought having no fear of their death but the greatness they would achieve in the end. Beowulf and Martin Luther King were both men who fought for the people and not themselves. Martin Luther King was pushed to the edge when being jailed for protest, But through all he prevailed and overcame. Bravery
Displaying acts of courage has the aptitude to make immense alteration to one’s personal integrity. Courage is seen as a virtue, and is a constantly repeated choice. The presence of courage is paramount to the actions of the characters throughout Peter Jackson’s Lord of the Rings trilogy. “I wish none of this had happened.” (Frodo, LOTR:FOTR, Jackson), “So do all who live to see such times. But that is not for them to decide. All we have to decide is what to do with the time that is given to us.” (Gandalf, LOTR:FOTR, Jackson). This moment which occurs early in the first film, elucidates the way courage is implemented throughout the films, where it must be found within the individual to consummate both colossal and trivial feats. The significance
The definition of bravery in the Standard College Dictionary Canadian Edition is, "the quality of mind or spirit enabling one to meet danger or opposition with fearlessness, calmness, and firmness." Bravery is a quality that is shown by many of the characters in the novel The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini. The characters are brave in their effort to protect physical well-being, personal values, their reputation and sanity. In the novel the characters exhibit genuine bravery in order to guard the things important to them.
When we discuss morality we know that it is a code of values that seem to guide our choices and actions. Choices and actions play a significant role in determining the purpose and course of a person’s life. In the case of “Jim and the Indians”, Jim faces a terrible dilemma to which any solution is morbid. On one hand, Jim can choose to ignore the captain’s suggestion and let the whole group of Indians be executed. Alternatively, he may decide upon sacrificing one Indian for the sake of saving the rest. Both options involve taking of person’s life. Regarding what should Jim do in this circumstance, there are two approaches according for Jim’s dilemma that should be examined. By looking into the Deontological moral theory and the moral theory of Consequentialism we can see what determines an action that is morally required.
There is much debate over the right path to happiness in life dating back to early civilization in the Roman Empire. Majority of people believe that happiness can only be achieved by material things such as; wealth, political power, fancy cars and so forth, whereas others believe that striving for pleasure and success ultimately yields happiness. Liberal education tends to take a conceptual approach to teaching the importance of virtues, whereas vocational studies tend to have a more practical approach. In “On Liberal and Vocational Studies,” Roman philosopher Seneca gives his own view of happiness and the importance of liberal studies in virtuous character of men. As a champion for living a virtuous life as opposed to materialism, Seneca’s remarks explain his arguments for virtue. Essentially, Seneca argues that men should not place emphasis on the things of this world arguing that happiness is not achieved by the possessions in one’s life, but by the way one lives their life.
What establishes a noble, valuable, enjoyable life? Many philosophers tried their own beliefs to these ancient and most persistent of philosophical question. Most of Philosophers have agreed that the best possible life is a life where the ideas of “virtue” and “happiness” are fulfilled. Nevertheless expected differences in terms, many great minds theorized that the road to a joyful, flourishing, happy life is paved with virtues. For example, Aristotle believed that anyone keen to live a virtuous life will reach happiness (Aristotle 1992). Also according to Roman Cicero, the bonds between virtue and happiness are very strong, that a virtuous person could still be happy even if he is tortured (McMahon 2006). In addition, Rosalind Hursthouse contended that owning virtue does not essentially result in happiness, as luck plays an irrefutable part in human’s life; however it is the best bet for a good life (Hursthouse 1999). Exactly the same like taking on a healthy routine is the best way for being healthy, although it does not assurance perfect health. In my opinion, there is a strong connection between virtue and happiness, yet there are some exceptions.
Happiness is the goal of every human beings according to Aristotle, however what does happiness imply? It is in his attempt to define happiness and to find a way to attain it that Aristotle comes across the idea of virtue. It is thus necessary to explain the relationship between these two terms. I will start by defining the good and virtue and then clarify their close link with the argument of function, I will then go into more details in explaining the different ways in which they are closely related and finally I am going to give an account of the apparent contradiction in Book X which is a praise of the life of study.
the right way to go. Aristotle says that virtues are something that we
Sally has obviously damaged the company, so her actions will definitely require an appropriate form of punishment. However, there are several factors that have to be taken in account. For example, Sally was a loyal, responsible, and fair worker during the last 20 years, so any extreme form of punishment could damage both Sally and the company. On the other hand, an inappropriate response from the management could encourage her deviant behavior towards the company in the future. With several conflicting factors apparent in this case, working out an appropriate solution is difficulty. The virtue ethics position allows several interpretations because it focuses on the character as the main motive that defines ethical behavior. Unlike deontology that relates moral actions to rules or pragmatism that considers social context related to ethical behavior, virtue ethics approaches the issue based on individual factors.
Two important characteristics for warriors are honor and virtue. Virtue is deemed to be the most important to a warrior's life and it means achieving your greatest potential as a human being. "The reward for great honor and virtue is fame (kleos), which is what guarantees meaning and value to one's life. Dying without fame (akleos) is generally considered a disaster, and the warriors of The Iliad do the most unimaginable deeds to avoid dying in obscurity or infamy. Other components of a warrior's heroic code is courage, loyalty, generosity, mercy, dignity, decency, honor, stoicism and strength."
During my life, I have learned many things that I’m either expected to do or know. My family and friends have impacted my life in multiple ways that have shaped me as a person over time. These values that my family has taught me has made me the person I am today and most likely the person I will be for the rest of my life.