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Single Idea 6014

[filed under theme 23. Ethics / C. Virtue Theory / 3. Virtues / d. Courage ]

Full Idea

Panaetius recast the virtue of courage as 'greatmindedness' (Aristotle's paramount virtue), he demoted military valour and gave priority to courage displayed in civic life.

Gist of Idea

Panaetius identified courage with great-mindedness, preferring civic courage to military

Source

report of Panaetius (fragments/reports [c.145 BCE]) by Elizabeth Asmis - Panaetius

Book Ref

'Encyclopedia of Classical Philosophy', ed/tr. Zeyl,Donald J. [Fitzroy Dearborn 1997], p.362

A Reaction

I find this very appealing, as I am increasingly horrified by our denigration of the people who implement our democracy for us. We urgently need to get back to the Greek idea of civic virtue, and this idea of Panaetius should be widely promulgated.

The 15 ideas with the same theme [virtuous resistance to fear and danger]:

23907 Courage is scientific knowledge [Socrates, by Aristotle]
293 Being unafraid (perhaps through ignorance) and being brave are two different things [Plato]
5224 Strictly speaking, a courageous person is one who does not fear an honourable death [Aristotle]
5226 True courage is an appropriate response to a dangerous situation [Aristotle]
23905 Courage follows reason, which tells us to choose what is noble [Aristotle]
7283 Great courage is not violent [Zhuangzi (Chuang Tzu)]
6014 Panaetius identified courage with great-mindedness, preferring civic courage to military [Panaetius, by Asmis]
17225 In a free man, choosing flight can show as much strength of mind as fighting [Spinoza]
6241 Contempt of danger is just madness if it is not in some worthy cause [Hutcheson]
20257 Cool courage and feverish bravery have one name, but are two very different virtues [Nietzsche]
15606 Military idea: what does not kill me makes me stronger [Nietzsche]
3848 Cowards are responsible for their cowardice [Sartre]
15640 Courage is not a virtue, but the form of every virtue at its testing point [Lewis,CS]
22400 Courage overcomes the fears which should be overcome, and doesn't overvalue personal safety [Foot]
20197 The courage of an evil person is still a quality worth having [Zagzebski]