On The Virtue Of Courage In Nicomachean Ethics

Courage is an important traditional virtue in the history of Chinese and Western ethical thought.In ancient Greece,courage,wisdom,justice and temperance were regarded as four cardinal virtues.Aristotle developed the concept of courage in ancient Greece and put particular connotation of virtue into it.Courage not only has a prominent place in Aristotle’s detailed list of virtues,but also has obvious particularity,and has a phenomenon of inconsistency with the general account of virtue,which requires special investigation and explanation..The concept of the virtue of courage in Ethica Nicomachea has obvious cultural and ideological background of ancient Greece.First,it is closely related to the elitist culture of ancient Greece.The Homeric era in ancient Greece was a time of frequent wars.This background of war made courage the primary virtue and initially formed the framework for understanding the virtue of courage.This tradition remained very prominent until the time of Aristotle.The hero complex formed by ancient Greeks in the background of war,namely the desire and respect for heroes,objectively promotes people to praise the virtue of courage.The nobleness advocated in the aristocratic political tradition of ancient Greece also constitutes the connotation of the virtue of courage.The pre-Aristotelian conception of courage also constitutes the connotation of the virtue of courage in Ethica Nicomachea.The understanding of the virtue of courage in Ethica Nicomachea should be referred to from the following aspects.First,Aristotle’s general description of virtue--virtue is a character trait,virtue conforms to the middle way principle,virtue is accompanied by pleasure,virtue is developed in practice.Second,the several notions of courage that prevailed in Aristotle’s day,the courage of the citizen,the courage based on special experience,the courage based on anger,the courage based on optimism,the courage based on ignorance,were not strictly courageous virtues.Third,Aristotle’s explanation of bravery,the range of valor,the characteristics of valor,the difference between valor and pleasure and pain,valor and self-control and temperance.The virtue of courage has remarkable particularity in the system of virtue in Ethica Nicomachea.Its particularity is embodied in that the virtue of courage is the “first virtue”in the list of virtue,which is inconsistent with the connotation of Aristotle’s concept of virtue.First,Aristotle’s discussion of bravery in Ethica Nicomachea is limited to the context of war,and bravery is not endowed with the general meaning like other virtues,which is quite different from our later understanding of bravery.Second,Aristotle,in his middle way theory of virtue,usually associated a virtue with an emotion.Virtue is understood as a middle way related to a certain emotion,but only bravery is related to two emotions.Third,in Aristotle’s psychological theory of virtue,virtue is accompanied by happiness,but the virtue of courage is not accompanied by happiness.There are two ways to understand the inconsistency between the virtue of courage and Aristotle’s concept of virtue.First,the error of Aristotle’s conception of virtue;Second,the failure of Aristotle in conceiving the virtue of courage.Aristotelian virtue of courage is not only inconsistent with his own concept of virtue,but also different from the concept of courage in modern society,the virtue of courage and contemporary civilization.There is an important difference between modern society and ancient society,that is,modern society is a fully globalized society,and the cooperation and integration between countries make peaceful and non-violent resolution of conflicts between countries the basic trend of human life.Therefore,in the modern social ideology,the virtue of courage has an obvious dimension of justice.On the other hand,modern society has retained the ancient blood of courage,mainly because in the process of state-based globalization,competition still dominates international relations.In order to cope with the present situation of human existence,Aristotle’s concept of the virtue of courage needs to be developed.From the perspective of individuals,the virtue of courage is a necessary virtue for individuals to acquire and maintain a good life.From the perspective of group,courage is an important virtue of citizens of a country.From the perspective of class,courage is a necessary virtue for human beings to overcome their own weaknesses and inaugurate a new era of history.