Adorea, Filosofiatik Psikologiara

Abstract

The philosophical representations of courage and its components have varied throughout history, depending on the authors, the historical epoch and the cultural context. In this article, we will first make a historical tour through different representations of courage from Greek Antiquity to the Contemporary Age. We will point out the features of courage according to representative authors of the different periods: the exposure to the public of the Homeric hero; the intellectualization of the Socratic and Platonic courage; the return to the military vision of courage by Aristotle; the work and humility ethics of the first Christians; the courage in the solitary confrontation to death in the Middle Ages; the disappearance of the construct of courage and the predominance of the combination of mercantile interests in the Modern Age; the rejection of the theory of the middle term by Machiavelli; the vitalist conception of the courage in Spinoza; the courage for the free use of intelligence in Kant; the courage to overcome mediocrity in Nietzsche; the courage to overcome anxiety in the face of non-being and change in Tillich; the courage to act freely and overcome the excessive attachment to life in Arendt; and the courage to speak the truth despite the opposition of influential people in Foucault. Next, we will carry out a brief review of some psychological definitions of courage and establish its fundamental components. Finally, based on the revision of the philosophical theories, we will suggest the incorporation of new components to the psychological definition of courage.