Cowardice and Heroism.

Tell me about your opinions of these words and their meanings.

Would you befriend someone with the traits of a coward/hero?
Is cowardice ever a good thing?
Is heroism ever a bad thing?
What things, if any, do cowards and heroes share in common?
How does someone become a coward/hero?
Is it possible for a coward to become a hero and vice versa?
Think of your own questions if you want.

Reply 1

deliverous

People can be heroic and cowardly. You shouldn't view the question from a black and white perspective. Plus, it might be helpful to define what you mean by the two.

Is cowardice ever a good thing?
Maybe you should not ask the question from a rationalist perspective. If fear is a natural thing, should we not expect what you call 'cowardice' to be quite common? Human-beings are close-cousins of chimpanzees - we are not machines. We are complicated animals, full of contradictions and emotions that regularly change.

Is heroism ever a bad thing? - Same as above. I would argue it's pointless to ask the question from a rationalist perspective, because even if we agree that heroism is good or bad in theory, the body generally does not work according to theories in the mind.

What things, if any, do cowards and heroes share in common?
Both can/are strongly driven by emotions. One might be driven to protect because of a sense of justice, and the other might be driven to survive because of a real sense of fear that debilitates one's thought process.

Is it possible for a coward to become a hero and vice versa?
Let's say one becomes a 'hero' in war. Later, his nerves become ****ed as a result of that war, therefore, he is prone to acting 'cowardly' later because of an inflated sense of fear as a result of acting heroically previously. Therefore, a hero can act heroically and cowardly, and vice versa - hence, they should be judged on the basis of their actions, and not referred categorically as a 'hero' or 'coward'.

Reply 2

Abstract_Prism

20

The greatest coward is the person who believes he is expected to act like a hero.

Reply 3

The_Last_Melon

OP

3

Original post by deliverous

People can be heroic and cowardly. You shouldn't view the question from a black and white perspective. Plus, it might be helpful to define what you mean by the two.

Is cowardice ever a good thing?
Maybe you should not ask the question from a rationalist perspective. If fear is a natural thing, should we not expect what you call 'cowardice' to be quite common? Human-beings are close-cousins of chimpanzees - we are not machines. We are complicated animals, full of contradictions and emotions that regularly change.

Is heroism ever a bad thing? - Same as above. I would argue it's pointless to ask the question from a rationalist perspective, because even if we agree that heroism is good or bad in theory, the body generally does not work according to theories in the mind.

What things, if any, do cowards and heroes share in common?
Both can/are strongly driven by emotions. One might be driven to protect because of a sense of justice, and the other might be driven to survive because of a real sense of fear that debilitates one's thought process.

Is it possible for a coward to become a hero and vice versa?
Let's say one becomes a 'hero' in war. Later, his nerves become ****ed as a result of that war, therefore, he is prone to acting 'cowardly' later because of an inflated sense of fear as a result of acting heroically previously. Therefore, a hero can act heroically and cowardly, and vice versa - hence, they should be judged on the basis of their actions, and not referred categorically as a 'hero' or 'coward'.

I don't know why you accused some of my questions as being rationalist rather than just giving an answer. The brain works on "good and bad", we tend to embrace or avoid things, I just wanted to know whether people thought either heroism or cowardice were worth embracing as motivating forces in their lives.

I agree with your last two answers though.

Reply 4

Ronda Rousey

2

Original post by The_Last_Melon

Tell me about your opinions of these words and their meanings.

Would you befriend someone with the traits of a coward/hero?
Is cowardice ever a good thing?
Is heroism ever a bad thing?
What things, if any, do cowards and heroes share in common?
How does someone become a coward/hero?
Is it possible for a coward to become a hero and vice versa?
Think of your own questions if you want.

There's nothing to gain from being a hero in today's society. Especially when we have such a selfish, individualistic culture in the West.

Like when people say they would step in if they saw someone being mugged, I always think "lol good luck with your punctured lung goals of 2016"