Combining in-depth analysis with strikingly apt examples of the role that courage plays in the life of human beings, this major contribution to moral philosophy argues that courage is necessary to personal achievement as well as to the common good of a civic community. Bauhn insists that courage is necessary for reinforcing people's understanding of themselves as autonomous agents, which is in turn necessary for countering widespread feelings of alienation and depression. He defines courage as the ability to confront fear, but crucially distinguishes a variety of fears that give rise to different types of courage.

• Title Page
• Copyright Page
• Table of Contents
• Preface
• CHAPTER 1 - The Need for Courage
• CHAPTER 2 - Courage as the Ability to Confront Fear
• CHAPTER 3 - The Courage of Creativity
• CHAPTER 4 - The Courage of Conviction
  • The Fear of Meaninglessness
  • The Fear of Dying
  • The Fear of Social Death
• CHAPTER 5 - The Objective Self and Moral Reasoning
• CHAPTER 6 - The Common Good and Morality
• CHAPTER 7 - Combining the Two Forms of Courage
  • Lewis
  • Robespierre
  • Irreconcilable Motivational Conflicts?
• CHAPTER 8 - Heroism and Courage
  • The American Civil War Experience
  • Heroism and Ordinary Virtues
• CHAPTER 9 - Prudence and Courage
• CHAPTER 10 - Some Concluding Reflections on Courage
  • The Objection Regarding Courage as a Form of Sexism
  • The Objection Regarding Courage as a Cultivation of Insensitivity
  • The Objection Regarding Courage as Incapable of Dealing with Tragedy
• Literature