Psychological Courage

by Daniel Putman

Overview

While the virtues of physical courage and moral courage have a long history in ethics, the courage to face personal psychological problems has never been fully integrated into the discipline. Psychological Courage explores the ethical dimension and multiple facets of the virtue of "psychological courage," as dubbed by author Daniel Putman. In this book, Putman outlines three forms of courage: physical, moral, and psychological. He defines psychological courage as the courage to face addictions, phobias, and obsessions, and to avoid self deception and admit mistakes. This book analyzes what psychological courage is and upholds it as a central virtue for human happiness.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780761828211
Publisher:	University Press of America
Publication date:	04/15/2004
Pages:	132
Product dimensions:	6.12(w) x 8.96(h) x 0.43(d)

About the Author

Daniel Putman is Professor of Philosophy at the University of Wisconsin-Fox Valley. The author holds a Ph.D. in Social Ethics from the University of Southern California, Los Angeles.

Table of Contents

	Acknowledgments	v
	Prologue	vii
	Introduction	1
1	The Courage to Admit Weakness	4
	Overcoming Destructive Habits	4
	Courage and Self-Justification	7
	Courage and Self-Deception	12
	Compassion and Forgiveness	23
2	Courage and Anxiety	29
	Courage in the Cauldron of Fear	29
	Irrational Anxiety	32
	The Wisdom of the Stoics	43
	The Buddhist Response to Anxiety	46
3	Psychological Courage and Social Relationships	52
	Psychological Control	52
	Milgram Revisited: Why "No" is So Hard to Say for So Many People	56
	If Only Those Other People Had Stronger Characters	64
	Let the Other Person Take Care of It	70
4	The Rewards of Courage	76
	The Rewards of a Loving Relationship	76
	The Internal Rewards of Courage	86
	Courage and Friendship	96
	Psychological Courage and the Rewards for Society	108
	Bibliography	115
	Index	119
	About the Author	121