Why Standing one’s Ground is not the same as Courage.
21 May 2010 1 Comment
in Philosophy Tags: courage, discussion, fear, Philosophy, standing ground
Why Standing one’s Ground is not the same as Courage. (A philosophical arguement).
I recently downloaded a set of free lectures from UCLA on ancient philosophy, something that, if I had the time and money, I would love to study. The first lecture acted as introduction to the course and asked just one question to give an example of the type of topics that would be discussed. It was ‘is standing your ground the same as courage?’ Of course I couldn’t join in the discussion so instead I thought I would write down my thoughts. I stress that these are my ideas and you may have different ones. In the spirit of philosophy hearing different thoughts and arguments would be beneficial so please comment!
Standing one’s ground seems to me to be a physical act of not giving in. There are many reasons for this, and it may be at times courageous to not budge on an issue, but it can also be foolish and brought on by ego rather than any sound thinking or rationalisation. Often we stand our ground through pure stubbornness so as not to admit we are wrong, or through fear that if we give in we may lose material possessions. Sometimes it is a power struggle.
Courage on the other hand comes from a more spiritual perspective. Courage can be displayed through standing one’s ground but it can also be displayed by backing down. Courage is not just about fighting for a cause; courage is a measured yet spiritual display of warrior ship. Courage is a fearlessness to take on difficult situations and fight for the best outcome, whether that is a help or a hindrance to the ego. True courage is from the heart where as standing ones ground comes from the ego. To live a courageous life is often a continuous battle, but one that propels us constantly forward, even if this is not always apparent at the time.
What is the role of fear on courage?
There is a reason why we experience different emotions. They all have something to teach us. Fear is a basic human emotion, instinct even, and should never be thought of as something that weakens you. It should be worked with, looked at from all angles, faced head on. Do not shirk fear! In itself it takes courage to face your fears and work through them, but does fear stop us from being courageous? At times it probably does, but at other times (usually when fear is a primal instinct, rather than a projection of the ego) it is needed to bring your courage to the fore. For example as a mother my basic animal instinct is to protect my children. If someone threatened to hurt them I would feel a vast fear, but the fear would propel me forward to become courageous. Perhaps we are all different in such cases, I can only speak from my own perspective. So perhaps fear is a catalyst to courage?
These are just initial thoughts and I am sure I will add more. Watch this space!
May 22, 2010 @ 12:22:20
You raised a number of points there that didn’t initially occur to me when I read the question and have definitely made me think. Thank you! I love reading what you write.