The Mystery of Courage

Courage is one of our most prized and celebrated virtues. But once you really start exploring it, the nature of courage is surprisingly hard to pin down.Here to help us explore the fascinating complications of courage is William Ian Miller, a historian, professor of law, and the author of The Mystery of Courage. Today on the show, Bill explains how centuries of philosophers, soldiers, and storytellers have approached courage and the hard-to-answer questions its manifestations raise. We discuss why courage has long been ranked among the highest virtues, the relationship between fear and courage, the fuzzy line between courage and cowardice, the association of courage and manhood, whether or not courage is domain specific, the difference between offensive and defensive courage, whether martyrs are courageous, whether deeds with evil ends are courageous, how fear, shame, and honor shape brave action, and more.Resources Related to the PodcastThe Road to Richmond: The Civil War Memoirs of Maj. Abner R. SmallIf I Die in a Combat Zone: Box Me Up and Ship Me Home by Tim O'BrienGood-Bye to All That by Robert GravesThe Personal Memoirs of Ulysses S. GrantAoM Article: Developing Manly CourageAoM Article: 9 Ways to Become More CourageousAoM Article: Courage Vs. Boldness — How to Live With Spartan BraveryAoM Podcast #380: How to Increase Your Courage and BraveryAoM Article: The 54 Best Quotes on CourageAoM Article: The Cardinal Virtues — CourageAoM Podcast #763: The Perils and Powers of CowardiceAoM series on honorConnect With William Ian MillerBill's faculty pageThanks to This Week’s Podcast SponsorIncogni. Take your personal data back with Incogni! Use code MANLINESS at the link below and get 60% off an annual plan: https://incogni.com/manliness0:00 - Introduction0:41 - What Is "The Mystery of Courage"?1:57 - Why Courage Is Hard to Define6:27 - The Good Coward: A Civil War Story14:00 - Why Courage Is Ranked the Highest Virtue17:20 - The Politics of Courage: Who Gets to Claim It23:00 - Offensive vs. Defensive Courage28:27 - Is Courage Domain-Specific?30:04 - Courage, Manhood & The Female Gaze50:34 - Fear, Shame & Honor in Courageous Acts57:00 - Is Courage Finite? Combat & ExhaustionSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.