Civil courage is a type of courage, related closely to
heroism
A hero (feminine: heroine) is a real person or fictional character who, in the face of danger, combats adversity through feats of ingenuity, courage, or strength. The original hero type of classical epics did such things for the sake of ...
, with which a person acts
bravely to intervene or take a stand in a social situation. It is courage shown by a person by representing human values (e.g., human dignity, justice, helping people in need) in public (e.g., towards authorities, superiors, strangers, or perpetrators, regardless of possible personal social and physical consequences).
Overview
Italian journalist and writer (1925–1996) wrote, "" ("The more citizens with civil courage a country has, the fewer heroes it needs").
Contemporary use
Civil courage was referred to by
psychologist
A psychologist is a professional who practices psychology and studies mental states, perceptual, cognitive, emotional, and social processes and behavior. Their work often involves the experimentation, observation, and explanation, interpretatio ...
Tobias Greitemeyer as constituting acts of
bravery
Courage (also called bravery, valour ( British and Commonwealth English), or valor (American English)) is the choice and willingness to confront agony, pain, danger, uncertainty, or intimidation. Valor is courage or bravery, especially in ...
, carried out with the objective of enforcing a societal or ethical standard, without concern for the effect these acts might have on one's own social position. Civil courage is often punished and the courageous person risks ostracism.
In this way, it is distinguished from those
altruistic
Altruism is the concern for the well-being of others, independently of personal benefit or reciprocity.
The word ''altruism'' was popularised (and possibly coined) by the French philosopher Auguste Comte in French, as , for an antonym of egoi ...
behaviors and other forms of courage that meet with social approval.
In the case of altruistic, helping behavior, an individual might expect to be praised or receive positive social consequences from having helped, despite possible financial or material loss. In actions where civil courage is demonstrated, the person carrying out the action may experience negative social consequences such as alienation, verbal abuse, or violence. Civil courage is displayed when a person, in spite of the perceived threat of such negative consequences, acts to intervene in a social context. This is demonstrated in the case of
whistleblowers
Whistleblowing (also whistle-blowing or whistle blowing) is the activity of a person, often an employee, revealing information about activity within a private or public organization that is deemed illegal, immoral, illicit, unsafe, unethical or ...
, who do not necessarily risk their lives but whose action could lead to prison time.
There are those who associate civil courage with
non-violence
Nonviolence is the personal practice of not causing harm to others under any condition. It may come from the belief that hurting people, animals and/or the environment is unnecessary to achieve an outcome and it may refer to a general philosoph ...
as developed by
Mahatma Gandhi
Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi (2October 186930January 1948) was an Indian lawyer, anti-colonial nationalism, anti-colonial nationalist, and political ethics, political ethicist who employed nonviolent resistance to lead the successful Indian ...
and
Martin Luther King Jr.
Martin Luther King Jr. (born Michael King Jr.; January 15, 1929 – April 4, 1968) was an American Baptist minister, civil and political rights, civil rights activist and political philosopher who was a leader of the civil rights move ...
and who cite such association as the cause why it faded as a model of conduct—due to the perception that it is uninteresting and boring when compared to violent revolution as a way of making social change.
Alexander Solzhenitsyn
Aleksandr Isayevich Solzhenitsyn. (11 December 1918 – 3 August 2008) was a Soviet and Russian author and dissident who helped to raise global awareness of political repression in the Soviet Union, especially the Gulag prison system. He was a ...
said of civil courage that “we have gotten used to regarding as valor only valor in war (or the kind that’s needed for flying in outer space), the kind which jingle-jangles with medals. We have forgotten another concept of ''valor—civil valor''. And that’s all our society needs, just that, just that, just that!”
Learning civil courage
A study from 2021 showed that German citizens consider the following contexts relevant to learn civil courage: “at home and/or from family”, “through
volunteering
Volunteering is an elective and freely chosen act of an individual or group giving their time and labor, often for community service. Many volunteers are specifically trained in the areas they work, such as medicine, education, or emergenc ...
”, “in
sports organizations”, “in extracurricular activities”, “in school”, “in professional organizations”, “from friends”, and “in
youth movements
The following is a list of youth organizations. A youth organization is a type of organization with a focus upon providing activities and socialization for minors. In this list, most organizations are international unless noted otherwise.
...
”. The following contexts are not considered relevant: “from television”, “from social media”, and “from the internet”.
See also
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References
{{Virtues
Civil society
Courage
Virtue