Is courage determined by physical strength?

[Gurubashi]

What are your views? Is the level of a person's physical courage determined by their physical strength? Or is it genetical? Are some people just born braver than others? I myself think it's a mix of the two - but physical strength definitely plays a large part. I have a friend who is a total coward when it comes to fighting, but since he is rather small, weak and uncoordinated physically, I don't see how it could have been any different. Sure, we all know one or two guys who seem a lot braver than their size should warrant - in Indonesia we praise them with the moniker semut merah (red ants) - but they usually have something other than physical strength backing them in a fight, such as agility or quick reflexes.

I would consider myself a somewhat brave person. I'm not the strongest person around, in fact my strength is probably a little below average, but I definitely have a couple of assets in a fight. I have a very high pain tolerance, and I know where to hit to inflict maximum pain (no, I don't fight dirty by taking out the eyes or shooting another man's balls). I generally don't back down from a fight, unless prudence dictates it because the other person is much larger than me, then my bravery seems to take a vacation somewhere. So, yeah, I think courage is determined by physical strength to a large extent. What do you think?

 

[bhsup]

Hardly, and I only need one example to prove it.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Audie_Murphy

Audie Leon Murphy (June 20, 1924 – May 28, 1971) was a fifth grade dropout from an extremely poor family who fought in World War II. Through "LIFE" magazine's July 16, 1945 issue ("Most Decorated Soldier"/cover photo), he became one the most famous soldiers of World War II and widely regarded as the most decorated American soldier of the war.

...

Murphy tried once again to enlist but was turned down by the Marines and the U.S. Army paratroopers because he was too short and underweight at 5 feet 5.5 inches (166.4 cm) and 110 pounds (50 kg). The Navy also turned him down for being underweight.[4][5] The United States Army finally accepted him [5] and he was inducted at Greenville[8] and sent to Camp Wolters, Texas for basic training.

 

[MobBoss]

In a single word: No.

 

[Zelig]

Yes.

The stronger I get, the more afraid I am of gaining body fat.

 

[GenMarshall]

No. To me, a simple act of a guy approaching a woman and not choking up is courage to me.

 

[GoodGame]

My own pet hypothesis is that a lack of physical fitness will make one more vulnerable to stress reactions, and less able to deal with the stress productively.

 

[Cutlass]

It takes more courage for a little guy to stand up to a big guy then for a big guy to stand up to a little guy.

 

[jtb1127]

Has nothing to do with body strength or genetics. It's a personal trait that one develops.

 

[CivCube]

In a single word: No.

And why would courage be limited to physical fighting? There are plenty of adversarial situations that require a great deal of mental fortitude. Many times courage is found in just getting out of bed and taking the day on.

 

[bhsup]

Mobby didn't say it was limited to that. In fact, his answer of "no" to the OP supports your comments as well.

 

[MobBoss]

No. To me, a simple act of a guy approaching a woman and not choking up is courage to me.

Thats self-confidence, not courage.

 

[Narz]

Thats self-confidence, not courage.

Kind of a blurry line, courage is just extreme self-confidence, usually combined wih moral righteousness. I agree though that approaching women isn't really courage as you're not doing it usually for some noble cause (unless you're approaching them to request funds for some noble charity).

 

[amadeus]

It takes more courage for a little guy to stand up to a big guy then for a big guy to stand up to a little guy.

Well put.

 

[Riffraff]

Kind of a blurry line, courage is just extreme self-confidence, usually combined wih moral righteousness. I agree though that approaching women isn't really courage as you're not doing it usually for some noble cause (unless you're approaching them to request funds for some noble charity).

I'm not sure here - I always though of courage as doing something despite one's own fear. In that case, approaching women would qualify. Otoh, a person with extreme self confidence, who wouldnt even consider failure, would be more delusional than courageous in my point of view.

 

[Miles Teg]

It takes more courage for a little guy to stand up to a big guy then for a big guy to stand up to a little guy.

God no. Little people are terrifying.

 

[Hygro]

Let's not discriminate against little people.

I agree with everyone that courage is a trait of character, but I will add that to display mental courage takes physical energy, and that is a form of strength. It's a lot easier to be courageous when you are feeling well.

 

[r16]

when superiority in strength is proved , it conditions to person to show it more , leading to a reputation of bravery and in cases to actual bravery .

 

[azzaman333]

Courage is unrelated to physical strength.

 

[Tee Kay]

Bravery does not mean "good at physical combat".

 

[r16]

if related to my post maybe it is because ı used a different word . On the other hand , am both known to be a coward and so capable in fighting that nobody can beat me in this country . The first thing ı don't believe about the things told about me !