| | "Courage and confidence are practical necessities . . . courage is the practical form of being true to existence, of being true to truth, and confidence is the practical form of being true to one’s own consciousness." Galt’s Speech, For the New Intellectual, pg 129
Courage becomes that practical necessity only in the face of fear. The greater one's certainty, the less the fear. The more honestly focused the consciousness, the less the fear. The stronger the allegience to ones core principles, the less the fear. To give in to the fear is as much a failure of integrity as of courage. I suspect that the most prevalent fears aren't of physical dangers, but of inner conflicts, of breached psychological defenses, of betraying ones better self, and of challenges avoided. The aspect of existence that one isn't true too in those cases is one's self. Courage first requires honesty with one's self, and acknowledging one's principles, after which the responsibililty shifts to integrity and honoring one's values. The higher the self-esteem, the less likely one is to turn their back on their values, or live in a world of self-doubt or self-ignorance.
So, courage is diminished as a virtue only because the practice of those other virtues make it less of an issue.
I suspect that when those other virtues are operating at a high level, rationally weighed risks are more likely to make for excitement than to require courage.
Edit: [Bill and I cross posted]
(Edited by Steve Wolfer on 12/18, 9:55pm)
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