Existential Courage: Arendt

Hannah Arendt's views on existential courage are quite challenging, as she defines existential courage as the strength that is needed and built by being a part of the public realm. As long as you hide in your personal world, she argues, you are not really becoming fully alive. It is only when you allow yourself to be challenged by the public sphere and other people's disagreements, that you build existential courage. You can compare this to the way in which the Athenian philosophers defined existential courage so often in relation to the soldier's courage in battle. Perhaps the philosophical courage to aim for authenticity in your private life, is not the full existential courage that Arendt demands of us. Her existential courage consists of being actively engaged in challenging your own thinking by making a contribution to the public realm.