Aristotle's Nicomachean Ethics Defines Bravery as Mean Between Fear and Confidence
In Book III of Nicomachean Ethics, Aristotle (384-322 BC) characterizes bravery as a balance between confidence and fear, highlighting its role in confronting fear, especially when pain is involved. He interprets fear as a projection of potential harm, acknowledging that not all fears are detrimental. Bravery is illustrated in combat, where one's character is truly assessed. An excess of fear results in cowardice, while false bravery can stem from unreliable motives. Genuine bravery entails confronting danger for honorable purposes. Contemporary instances include whistleblowing and conscientious objection. In 2025, Angelique Songco was honored with the International Women of Courage Award for her dedication to safeguarding Tubbataha Reefs National Park. Bravery is vital for both integrity and happiness.
Key facts
- Aristotle lived from 384 to 322 BC and wrote at least two, possibly three, treatises on ethics, with Nicomachean Ethics being the best-known.
- In Nicomachean Ethics Book III, sections 6-9, Aristotle defines bravery as the mean between confidence and fear, which are inversely proportional.
- Aristotle considers bravery in battle the exemplary instance of the virtue, as it involves the most extreme fear: death.
- Fear, according to Aristotle, is a belief or judgment anticipating future loss or harm, not merely a feeling.
- The rash person, a form of excess, desires to appear brave, overestimates themselves, and falters when difficulties reveal false confidence.
- Cowardice, the vice of deficiency, involves excessive fear or fearing what should not be feared, potentially leading to despair.
- Aristotle identifies five types of false courage: from fear of punishment or desire for glory, from experience or skill, from passion, from past successes, and from ignorance.
- The US State Department has awarded the International Women of Courage Award annually since 2007; Angelique Songco of the Philippines was a 2025 recipient for protecting Tubbataha Reefs National Park.
Entities
Artists
- Aristotle
- Jacob Peter Gowy
- Peter Paul Rubens
- Edvard Munch
- James Tissot
- Angelique Songco
Institutions
- TheCollector
- Prado Museum
- Munch Museum
- Brooklyn Museum
- US State Department
- International Women of Courage Award
- American Women for International Understanding
- Tubbataha Reefs National Park
Locations
- Madrid
- Spain
- Oslo
- Norway
- Brooklyn
- New York
- United States
- Philippines