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Speech on fortitude
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good morning everybody today I want to deliver a speech on fortitude
Intellectual Takeout | September 4, 2015 | 9,811
Courage, Bravery, Fortitude
"Fortitude" is a five-dollar word used to describe a virtue more simply known as "courage" or "bravery." It is one of the four cardinal virtues along with prudence, justice, and temperance. In particular, fortitude along with temperance helps one to conquer the obstacles to doing the good with prudence and justice.
According to Aristotle, one possesses the virtue of fortitude if he/she "faces and ... fears the right things ... from the right motive, in the right way and from the right time, and who feels confidence under the corresponding conditions." In other words, a brave person is one who prudently decides in certain situations that it is right to endure suffering for the sake of a good, even though he is afraid. Indeed, the brave person endures suffering in cases where he knows that avoiding it would be a greater evil.
One common modern example of fortitude might be the student who decides to remain at her table when an unpopular student in the school cafeteria sits down to eat lunch with her. She fears the ridicule that she will receive from her peers for this act, but decides that she would be doing a great injustice if she left the unpopular student alone. One also associates fortitude today with the whistleblower who stands up to injustice in workplace in spite of fears of losing his job.
For Aristotle, fortitude was mainly about one's willingness to do the right thing in the face of bodily harm. Specifically, Aristotle thought that "he will be called brave who is fearless in face of a noble death, and of all emergencies that involve death. "Because the ultimate good is life, the ultimate threat to one's pursuit of the good is death, and thus, the ultimate sign that one possesses fortitude is if he suffers those things that could potentially result in his death. In particular, Aristotle believed that fortitude was most fully shown on the battlefield.
Since fortitude involves doing the good in spite of fear, a truly courageous person must actually be afraid of something. Again, life is a good, and so it is perfectly natural and right to fear death—though there will inevitably be varying degrees of fear among different people.
Fortitude is also only shown when someone is pursuing a "right end," or, a proper goal. For instance, a person who exercises for her health may consistently show courage in dragging herself out of bed early in the morning to endure the physical strain of her workout. But, a man who exercises purely for the sake of making himself more attractive to women would not be considered courageous. Instead, he would be demonstrating the lengths he is willing to go to in pursuing a vain desire.
The extreme of cowardice is obvious, since it is commonly thought of as the opposite of fortitude or bravery. Whereas a brave person "fears the right things in the right way," Aristotle deems the coward as one "who exceeds in fear… for he fears both what he ought not and as he ought not." For instance, it is natural to fear death, but one shouldn't fear it to the point that it leads him to do something wrong, such as abandoning his post in battle, or knocking over others to get out of a building on fire.
Interestingly, then, impatience is an example of a lack of fortitude. Indeed, the word "patience" comes from the Latin verb pati, which means, "to suffer." The impatient person is one who grows "inordinately sad" (or angry) at having to endure what blocks his way toward achieving a good. Think, for instance, of the parent who wants to relax in the evening (a definite good!), but absolutely dreads the idea of having to get the kids ready for bed. Or, take the example of the teenager who longs to be free of her parents' household upon graduating from high school, and acts disrespectful toward her parents as a result of this longing. Such behavior demonstrates a lack of fortitude.
So, how will you live?
please mark me brainiest