@philosophyminis: #Plato argued that there are four classical virtues: there's wisdom, justice, self-control, and courage. And of these, his account of courage is one of the most insightful passages in his Republic. Because for Plato, #courage is not what most people think it is Courage is not the same as fearlessness, nor is it something born to some people and denied others. For Plato, courage is the ability to recognise what's valuable or not, and what should be feared. For instance, courage is when you fear losing a loved one more than your health or your wealth. It's when you see #fairness or #justice as greater than popularity. A young child who does not know the dangers of life is not brave. They just don't know what they should fear, yet. A lion defending her pride is mighty, but she's not courageous. Courage is having the #wisdom or the judgment to place one set of values above another. And for Plato, this must be trained or taught in our schools and by the state. We must teach children what are the valuable things in life — that justice, fairness, wisdom, #love and #friendship are more important than wealth, lust, and the self. From our earliest years, we must see that some things in life need defending. We need to protect those things. So, courage can take many forms. It's in the greatest of acts or in the quietest of words. It's an Arthurian knight defending his honour or a protester fighting for justice. It's a small girl standing up to a bully in the playground. Courage is knowing what's right and why right is important.

Jonny Thomson

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Region: GB

Wednesday 08 January 2025 14:50:25 GMT