How Socrates and His Students Tried to Define Courage
When we talk about courage in philosophy, we often go back to ancient Greece. The dialogue between Socrates, Laches, and Nicias is one of the earliest examples of how people tried to define this important human quality. This conversation, written by Plato, explores how these thinkers understood courage and whether it could be clearly defined.
Socrates Starts the Discussion
In Plato’s dialogue Laches, Socrates begins by asking a simple but deep question: What is courage? He doesn’t offer a definition himself. Instead, he guides his students Laches and Nicias to think more deeply by questioning their answers. This way of learning, called the Socratic method, helps uncover what we really mean when we use big words like courage.
Laches Tries to Define Courage
Laches, one of Socrates's students, confidently gives his answer first. He says courage is the kind of bravery shown by a soldier standing strong in battle. Socrates challenges this because it only gives an example rather than a full definition. Socrates encourages Laches to think beyond specific cases.
Laches tries again. This time, he says courage is endurance. Socrates agrees that endurance is closer to the kind of answer he’s looking for, but there’s still a problem. Not all endurance is courageous. For example, someone might stubbornly endure pain or punishment even if it’s unwise. So Laches’s definition ends up being too general.
Nicias’s Turn: Courage as Knowledge
After Laches, Nicias gives his answer. He says courage is the knowledge of what should be feared and what should be hoped for. In other words, a courageous person understands what is truly dangerous or safe.
Socrates pushes him further. They explore whether courage can really be based on knowing the future. But how can we know what will be good or bad in the future for sure? Nicias then tries a final version of his answer: courage is the knowledge of good and evil.
Socrates questions this too. If that definition were correct, wouldn’t courage be the same as all virtue? And if so, how could it be a part of virtue, like justice or wisdom, and also the whole thing at once? Nicias eventually backs off from defending his definition.
What About Socrates and Plato?
Interestingly, Socrates never gives a final answer. He admits he doesn't know exactly what courage is. But that’s part of the point. For Socrates, real wisdom begins when we admit what we don’t know.
Plato, who wrote the dialogue, didn’t just present the conversation for fun. He used it to show how important it is to question what we think we understand. Even big ideas like courage are worth exploring again and again.
References
The Open University 2016, educational resource, Walton Hall, Milton Keynes, viewed 2 July 2025.