The Mystery of Courage

The Art of Manliness

Philosophy, Society & Culture, Education

4.7 • 14.8K Ratings

🗓️ 31 March 2026

⏱️ 61 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

Courage is one of our most prized and celebrated virtues. But once you really start exploring it, the nature of courage is surprisingly hard to pin down.

Here to help us explore the fascinating complications of courage is William Ian Miller, a historian, professor of law, and the author of The Mystery of Courage. Today on the show, Bill explains how centuries of philosophers, soldiers, and storytellers have approached courage and the hard-to-answer questions its manifestations raise. We discuss why courage has long been ranked among the highest virtues, the relationship between fear and courage, the fuzzy line between courage and cowardice, the association of courage and manhood, whether or not courage is domain specific, the difference between offensive and defensive courage, whether martyrs are courageous, whether deeds with evil ends are courageous, how fear, shame, and honor shape brave action, and more.

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Transcript

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1:13.3	Brett McKay here and welcome to another edition of the AOM podcast, which since 2008 has
1:17.8	featured conversations with the world's best authors, thinkers, and leaders that gleaned their
1:22.1	edifying, life-improving insights without the fluff and filler. The AOM podcast is just one part
1:27.2	of the McKay mission to help individuals practice timeless
1:29.5	virtues through thought, word, and deed.
1:32.2	Also, be sure to explore our articles in Art ofmanliness.com, read the deeper dyes we do in
1:36.2	our substack newsletter at dyingbred.net and turn our content into real world action
1:40.5	by joining the Strenuous Life program at strunuslife.com.
1:43.8	Now on to the show.
1:53.0	Courage is one of our most prized and celebrated virtues, but once you really start
	...

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