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Full Idea
Mere courage, or contempt of danger, if we conceive it to have no regard to the defence of the innocent, or repairing of wrongs or self-interest, would only entitle its possessor to bedlam.
Clarification
'Bedlam' is the insane asylum
Gist of Idea
Contempt of danger is just madness if it is not in some worthy cause
Source
Francis Hutcheson (Treatise 2: Virtue or Moral Good [1725], §II.I)
Book Ref
'British Moralists 1650-1800 Vol. 1', ed/tr. Raphael,D.D. [Hackett 1991], p.271
A Reaction
If many criminals would love to rob a bank, but only a few have the nerve to attempt it, we can hardly deny that the latter exhibit a sort of courage. The Greeks say that good sense must be involved, but few of them were so moral about courage.
| 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] |