17 Dec 2025 · 0 min
A short podcast mini-chapter in which Brian Johnson summarizes Aristotle's account of courage: it is not the absence of fear but the virtuous mean between the vices of excess (rashness) and deficiency (cowardice). Johnson emphasizes feeling fear, prudently assessing action, and then doing what needs to be done (which may sometimes mean not acting).
You're listening to Optimize with Bryan Johnson, More Wisdom in Less Time this is a mini chapter from Brian's book A Philosopher's Notes. You can find it on Amazon.
Aristotle's Courage first thing to know is that it's not about having no fear, it's about having courage. There's a big difference. Aristotle puts it brilliantly. He describes a virtuous mean the middle path between the vice of deficiency, not having enough of a virtue, and the vice of excess, having too much of a virtue. In his handy dandy model, we've got the virtue of courage, the noble quality that gives us the mojo to move ahead in the face of fear. We're freaked out, but we go for it anyway. Now, if I'm a bit of a tough guy about it and have too much courage, I'm going to suffer from a vice of excess that Aristotle calls rashness. I might just jump out of an airplane without a parachute or something equally unwise. On the other hand, if I'm overwhelmed by fear or have too little courage, I'm going to have a vice of deficiency. In other words, I'm a coward. So the trick is to allow ourselves to feel the fear, check in to see what the most prudent course of action is, and then go ahead and do what needs to be done. Which, of course, might be not jumping out of that plane. Here's to the virtuous mean.
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