Courage is generally defined as the ability to face danger without fear.
I'm not entirely sure about that, myself. Certainly, it seems a common motif to be courageous in facing danger while still being utterly terrified. Quite often, we see great heroes before their finest hour, intimating that they had never been so terrified in their lives as in that moment before they act. This seems to make them more courageous than one might otherwise perceive, knowing that they do what they do despite fear that would paralyse lesser mortals.
I've always considered courage to be the ability to move past one's fear to accomplish things that they otherwise would never do, rather than mere fearlessness.
A quote-ish thing that I like: "Courage is not the absence of fear, but the ability to overcome it."
So I suppose the absence of fear is the absence of courage. And the absence of fear when there is genuine risk has to be due to either ignorance or arrogance.
If you know what negative consequences you are risking, and what you stand to achieve... and the odds of success... Perhaps then you might be able to judge where the edge of courage is.
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I'm not entirely sure about that, myself. Certainly, it seems a common motif to be courageous in facing danger while still being utterly terrified. Quite often, we see great heroes before their finest hour, intimating that they had never been so terrified in their lives as in that moment before they act. This seems to make them more courageous than one might otherwise perceive, knowing that they do what they do despite fear that would paralyse lesser mortals.
I've always considered courage to be the ability to move past one's fear to accomplish things that they otherwise would never do, rather than mere fearlessness.
no subject
So I suppose the absence of fear is the absence of courage. And the absence of fear when there is genuine risk has to be due to either ignorance or arrogance.
If you know what negative consequences you are risking, and what you stand to achieve... and the odds of success... Perhaps then you might be able to judge where the edge of courage is.