What is cowardice? Definition. Cowardice

What does cowardice lead to? Direction: Loyalty and Cowardice (2017)

What does cowardice lead to? Unfortunately, it only leads to dishonest, base actions. Everyone experiences fear at different points in their lives, but you need to be able to overcome it. And to do this, you need to understand the cause of your fear and its consequences. A cowardly, cowardly person himself does not know how he will behave in a particular situation, much less other people. You cannot rely on such a person. Because of cowardice, he can resort to meanness and betrayal. Very often we don’t even know if we are cowards? But any unusual dangerous situation confronts us with a choice: to do a brave thing or to be a coward. But, even if you chickened out in some life situation, by realizing this, a lot can be corrected. I’ll try to remember works of art where characters experience fear and show cowardice.

We encounter an example of cowardice in the story of the modern writer Lyudmila Ulitskaya “Daughter of Bukhara.” The young captain Dmitry, returning from the war, brought the “beauty” from the East, Bukhara, to the house of his father-doctor. She gave birth to his daughter Mila. The child turned out to be sick. Bukhara decides to leave the girl and devotes his life to her. And Dmitry leaves the family, unable to withstand the test, trying to avoid unpleasant rumors from people. He showed cowardice. Who are we to judge him? A more terrible judgment awaits him - the court of conscience.

But the other hero, who is also afraid to leave his post, is afraid of the punishment that will inevitably follow. This is the hero of N.S. Leskov’s story “On the Clock” by Postnikov. He stands guard, and before his eyes a man drowns. Postnikov is tormented, he is waiting for the heartbreaking cries for help to stop. He doesn't know what to do. As a human being, he wants to help, but fear of the regulations holds him back. We feel how unbearable this struggle is. The man wins, Postnikov throws himself onto the ice and, risking his life, saves the drowning man. He conquered his fear. Now it doesn’t matter to him that he will be punished and how. He did the most important thing: he saved a man. And this is stronger than the fear of punishment. The hero feels relieved because his conscience is clear. What would happen to him if he fulfilled his official duty, but did not fulfill his human one?

Thus, cowardice leads to low, vile actions, for which you will be ashamed all your life. A cowardly person is dangerous because you don’t know what to expect from him in difficult times, or how he will behave. Therefore, of course, we must fight cowardice, we must defeat it within ourselves. So that in a moment of difficult choice she does not win.

Introduction: In the face of danger, a person is often overcome by a feeling of fear. And not every person can suppress it. Fear is so strong that it makes people do completely unpredictable things. Fear is the enemy of man. And you need to fight enemies. But don’t think that fear is for the weak.

Each of us has experienced this eerie feeling at least once in our lives, accompanied by trembling knees and rapid heartbeat. It could be a completely ordinary situation, for example, anxiety when answering at the board, worry about a loved one, or something more serious.

In any of these cases, fear did not at all act as a person’s assistant; rather, on the contrary, it prevented him from gathering his thoughts in order to take control of the situation and fix everything. And if fear for us is a completely ordinary feeling that we experience several times a day (just like with joy or sadness), then the manifestation of spiritual weakness in a critical situation, so-called cowardice, is for us one of the most terrible human qualities.

Cowardice makes a person in our eyes a weakling, weak, someone who can only feel sorry for himself and not act for the benefit of others. But one cannot be called a scoundrel who feels sorry for himself out of fear - he is timid and helpless, but not cruel. A scoundrel is someone who hurts others out of cowardice. Such a coward is afraid, but does not accept his fear, does not accept defeat, but tries to get rid of it by any means in order to be safe again. Such a coward will even step over a wounded person who needs his help. Such a coward is himself an enemy of society.

Arguments: In Russian literature there are many examples of how cowardice pushed heroes to actions that harmed all the people around them. So, for example, in the work of Alexander Sergeevich Pushkin “The Captain's Daughter”, during the siege of the fortress by Pugachev, one of the heroes, Alexey Shvabrin, betrays his Fatherland, taking the side of the enemy. Shvabrin puts his life and his own well-being above duty. A trait such as cowardice forces the hero to commit a reprehensible act.

Another example of mental weakness in literature is the act of Pontius Pilate, the hero of the novel “The Master and Margarita,” written by Mikhail Afanasyevich Bulgakov. Despite the fact that the procurator felt pity for Yeshua, he did not dare to confront the Sanhedrin. Pontius Pilate turned out to be too cowardly to sacrifice his power for the life of a noble man.

Conclusion: To sum it up, we can say again that cowardly people are enemies of society. Their cowardice harms not only themselves, but also all those around them. Cowardly people will never be able to commit a noble and courageous act in the name of society; they will always care about only one thing - their own safety. They will not be afraid to betray, abandon or - worst of all - take someone's life. They themselves seem to be alien to one of the most important qualities for a person - the ability to compassion. That’s why it’s so easy for them to deceive, because the feelings of another person, even the closest one, mean nothing to them. Cowardice is one of the most terrible vices.

Cowardice is a person’s reaction to fear, expressed in the inability or unwillingness to perform any proper actions (actions); mental weakness.

Alexander the Great noticed among his soldiers a man named Alexander, who constantly fled during battles. And he said to him: “I ask you, either overcome cowardice, or change your name, so that the similarity of our names does not mislead anyone.”

The inability or unwillingness to cope with fear or any phobia becomes the driving force of cowardice. Bravery is trained cowardice. When a person, in a moment of danger, “thinks” only with his feet, ignoring the voice of conscience and reason, it means that we are faced with cowardice. She always makes a choice in favor of a comfortable, safe present in comparison with an unpredictable and uncertain future.

Instead of solving the problem, the coward hides from it. At the instigation of Pliny the Elder, a legend came to us from Ancient Rome about ostriches supposedly hiding their heads in the sand out of fear: “Ostriches imagine that when they stick their heads and necks into the ground, their whole body seems hidden.” It is curious that this misconception still persists in the minds of citizens. The ostrich is a bird that actively defends itself when in danger. The ostrich has long, very strong two-toed legs, perfectly adapted for running and protection from enemies. The ostrich bends down to the ground to eat and swallow sand and small pebbles. Many birds do this - after all, they do not have teeth, they are replaced by a muscular stomach with hard walls, so the ostrich has to swallow stones to make it easier to digest its lunch.

Various entertainment events help to hide from the fear of solving life's problems and cowardice. Behind the screen of feasts, sexual promiscuity, or simply hobbies of cinema and sports, cowardice avoids resolving unpleasant situations, accumulating them more and more. Cowardice reaches out to laughing friends, cheerful, vigorous people, trying to find in them at least psychological support. She involuntarily realized the truth - funny things are not dangerous, and, defending herself from fear, she acquired a tendency to laugh and giggle.

Cowardice should not be identified with caution, moderation, gradualism or prudence. A coward, faced with uncertainty, does not want to take risks; he is a slave to fear. At the same time, he is fully aware of the groundlessness of his fears. But when a person, seeing an aggressive drunk company, avoids communication and eye contact with her, of course, this is a reasonable precaution. If he is doing spearfishing for the first time, then it is wise to familiarize himself with the rules of behavior under water.

When cowardice becomes a manifest quality of a person, it is natural that it rejects its opposites - courage, boldness, courage and selflessness. At the same time, it easily transforms into timidity, fearfulness, timidity and apprehension.

An inexplicable phenomenon, uncertainty and associated risks always cause a certain fear in any person. Only the insane are not afraid. Everyone experiences fear. Cowards die many times. However, a courageous person overcomes fear by force of will, forcing himself to fulfill his duties and duty. In cowardice, the muscles of the mind are atrophied, willpower is suppressed by fear, and conscience is silent. When the fatal moments come, she does what is due only under external coercion, “under pressure.” F. M. Dostoevsky wrote: “A coward is one who is afraid and runs; and whoever is afraid and does not run is not a coward.”

Everything in the world is relative. Who is better, an undisciplined brave man or a disciplined coward? V. Tarasov writes in “Principles of Life”: “The brave man does not advance alone, the coward does not retreat alone. One warrior, unable to withstand the stress of the upcoming battle, ran up to the enemy positions, cut off two heads, and returned with them. But the commander ordered to add the hero’s head to these two. Because there was no order to attack. These three heads in a row are a symbol of the prohibition of attacking without an order. The brave do not advance alone. Discipline cannot be maintained if the brave advance without orders. Here are the soldiers sitting in the trench. They are looking forward to the start of the battle. The brave man got up and, without waiting for an order, went on the offensive. Behind him is another, a third, and the whole company. Only a coward remained in the trench. He alone is disciplined and awaits orders. But there is no order, since everyone has already left. How to evaluate the behavior of a coward? Like discipline, and reward! Or as cowardice, and punished? What if a year has passed and he still sits and waits for orders? If every thing is in its place, every person is where he should be, and does what he should do - this is order. If order is violated, then we can say who is the violator and what was violated - this is disorder. If order is disrupted, but it is impossible to say who exactly is to blame and what exactly he violated, this is disorganization. Disorganization is worse than disorder. With it, fear and fearlessness change places. It's scary to keep order. And it’s not scary to break it. That's what disorganization is. When a coward retreats alone, he creates disorder. When a brave man advances alone, he creates disorganization. The path from disorganization to order lies through disorder. First, turn disorganization into disorder. Then punish the person responsible for this new disorder. To bring back the picture of the world when it’s scary to break order, and not scary not to break it.”

That is why, in peacetime conditions, the employer will prefer to hire an executive, disciplined, cowardly official into a large economic structure. An overly independent, proactive, courageous person in emergency circumstances may behave in an unusual manner and risk the system. A coward will play it safe ten thousand times and do what is beneficial to the system.

“To a coward it seems that even the mountains are shaking,” says a Mongolian proverb. Professing the principle “No matter what happens,” cowardice is clogged in the shell of its own egoism, protecting itself from the threats and challenges of the outside world. She is isolated in her loneliness, like Robinson Crusoe on a desert island. The frightened Ego, fearing for its safety, is ready to resort to betrayal and meanness. At all times, cowardice has been and will be the forge of traitors. Cowardice, treason and betrayal are the constant trinity of depravity. When paired with cowardice, many negative personality traits take on an exaggerated appearance: a stupid person becomes an irresponsible, stupid “brake” with paralysis of the mind, a deceitful person turns into a deceiver and slanderer. The catchphrase of the last Russian Emperor Nicholas II, written in his diary on March 2, 1917, on the day of his abdication, became famous: “There is treason, cowardice and deceit all around.”

Cowardice gives rise to cruelty. Through cruelty towards weaker or closer people, she skillfully disguises herself and hides her true essence. The coward throws out all his anger and resentment on the victim. Savage murders, chilling the heart with their cruelty, are often committed under the influence of fear. Fear develops into horror, and the latter into unbridled cruelty. Cowardice deprives a person of reason, and he becomes the embodiment of heartlessness, hard-heartedness and indifference. Helvetius accurately noted: “Cruelty is always the result of fear, weakness and cowardice.”

A person can live his life and never know, because of his cowardice, what he was capable of. The desire for security, fear of risks, desire to have a “roof”, refusal to make vital decisions - all this together makes a potentially brave person a pathetic cowardly lion. “Why are you a coward? - Ellie asked, looking in surprise at the huge Leo. - I was born this way. Of course, everyone considers me brave: after all, the lion is the king of beasts! When I roar - and I roar very loudly, you heard - animals and people run out of my way. But if an elephant or a tiger attacked me, I would be scared, honestly! It’s good that no one knows what a coward I am,” said Lev, wiping away tears with the fluffy tip of his tail. “I’m very ashamed, but I can’t change myself...”

Cowardice is the inability to act during a period of real (or perceived as real) threat, criminal weakness or activity during a period of inability to control one’s fear.

Fear is a normal reaction of the body to a threat to the functioning and integrity of the body. It always exists and is found in all people with intact psyche and full development.

However, we all struggle with it both in everyday and extreme situations. We may be afraid to meet the parents of our chosen one, go up in a transparent elevator, and go ask for a promotion from the manager, or we may be afraid to go into battle, realizing the real threat to our lives. But we pull ourselves together and don’t retreat. But some retreat and run away. This is called cowardice.

Sometimes they don’t just “give up”, but are ready to do anything, consciously or not. And it’s one thing when we turn aside in front of the boss’s office. Well, we’ll still sit in a low-paid position. And it’s a completely different matter when, for the sake of personal salvation, cowards are ready to shoot their captured comrades, drown women and children, removing their life jackets during a shipwreck. Therefore, there is always a negative attitude towards cowardice and it is assessed as “criminal” activity or inactivity. From here the differences between fear and cowardice can be clearly seen.

The difference between fear and cowardice

There are several main differences between fear and cowardice.

1. Fear is the body’s reaction to a threat, and cowardice is always an act (and passivity is also an act).
2. This is where the next concept comes from: cowardice is always associated with the volitional determination of activity, or rather its lack.
3. Cowardice is associated with deep personal attitudes that are formed by each individual and are influenced by many factors. Thus, the mentioned concept is influenced by all the relationships that were laid down for the child, his moral dogmas, the ability to make decisions, a sense of responsibility, in general, the development of his personality from the psychological side. Therefore, some people will prefer to give up their lives if the life of a child is put on the scales; while others absorbed the attitude that children are not of great value and will calmly prefer their own benefit in an extreme situation.

Therefore, from these differences, the causes of cowardice can be clearly deduced.

Causes of cowardice

So, based on the above, let's take a closer look at the reasons for the formation of cowardice and give relevant examples.

How to deal with cowardice?

Let's divide this point into two large parts: in-depth study of oneself and situational principles of combating “attacks of cowardice.”

If we are ready to study the problem in depth, we look at all possible points that could lead to the formation of this way of responding to the situation:

Situational principles of struggle are also aimed at developing self-control. These include breathing exercises that reduce feelings of tension and readiness for impulsive actions; and express methods that allow you to concentrate on an important motive; and, finally, methods that allow you to “create” “helpers” for yourself or find internal reserves so as not to chicken out.

Final essay on literature 2018. The topic of the final essay on literature. "Courage and cowardice."

FIPI comment: This direction is based on a comparison of opposite manifestations of the human “I”: readiness for decisive actions and the desire to hide from danger, to avoid resolving difficult, sometimes extreme life situations. The pages of many literary works present both heroes capable of bold actions and characters demonstrating weakness of spirit and lack of will.

1. Courage and cowardice as abstract concepts and properties of a person (in the broad sense). Within this section, you can reflect on the following topics: Courage and cowardice as personality traits, as two sides of the same coin. Courage/cowardice as personality traits determined by reflexes. True and false courage/cowardice. Courage as a manifestation of excessive self-confidence. Courage and risk taking. Courage/cowardice and self-confidence. The connection between cowardice and selfishness. The difference between rational fear and cowardice. The connection between courage and philanthropy, philanthropy, etc.

2. Courage/cowardice in minds, souls, characters. In this section, you can reflect on the concepts of willpower, fortitude, the ability to say no, the courage to stand up for your ideals, the courage needed to stand up for what you believe in. You can also talk about cowardice, as the inability to defend one’s ideals and principles. Courage or cowardice when making decisions. Courage and cowardice when accepting something new. Courage and cowardice when trying to leave your comfort zone. The courage to admit the truth or admit your mistakes. The influence of courage and cowardice on the formation of personality. Contrasting two types of people.

3. Courage/cowardice in life. Pettiness, inability to show courage in a specific life situation.

4. Courage/cowardice in war and in extreme conditions. War exposes the most basic human fears. In war, a person is able to display previously unknown character traits. Sometimes a person surprises himself by showing heroism and unprecedented fortitude. And sometimes even good people, contrary to their expectations, show cowardice. The concepts of heroism, feat, as well as desertion, betrayal, etc. are associated with courage/cowardice within this section.

5. Courage and cowardice in love.

COURAGE– a positive moral-volitional personality trait, manifested as determination, fearlessness, courage when performing actions associated with risk and danger. Courage allows a person to overcome, through volitional efforts, the fear of something unknown, complex, new and achieve success in achieving a goal. It is not for nothing that this quality is highly revered by the people: “God controls the brave,” “The city takes courage.” It is also revered as the ability to speak the truth (“Dare to have your own judgment”). Courage allows you to face the “truth” and objectively assess your capabilities, not be afraid of darkness, loneliness, water, heights and other difficulties and obstacles. Courage provides a person with a sense of self-worth, a sense of responsibility, security, and reliability of life.

Synonyms: courage, determination, courage, heroism, enterprise, self-reliance, self-confidence, energy; presence, uplifting spirit; spirit, courage, desire (to tell the truth), audacity, boldness; fearlessness, fearlessness, fearlessness, fearlessness; fearlessness, determination, daring, heroism, courage, riskiness, desperation, audacity, innovation, daring, audacity, audacity, daring, poverty, valor, novelty, courage, masculinity.

COWARDLY - one of the expressions of cowardice; a negative, moral quality that characterizes the behavior of a person who is unable to perform actions that meet moral requirements (or, conversely, refrain from immoral actions) due to the inability to overcome fear of natural or social forces. T. can be a manifestation of calculating selfishness, when it is based on fears of incurring unfavorable consequences, someone’s anger, fear of losing existing benefits or social position. It can also be subconscious, a manifestation of elemental fear of unknown phenomena, unknown and uncontrollable social and natural laws. In both cases, T. is not just an individual property of the psyche of a particular person, but a social phenomenon. It is associated either with selfishness, rooted in the psychology of people over the centuries-old history of private property, or with the powerlessness and depressed position of a person generated by a state of alienation (even fear of natural phenomena develops into T. only under certain conditions of social life and the corresponding upbringing of a person). Communist morality condemns terrorism because it leads to immoral actions: dishonesty, opportunism, unprincipledness, deprives a person of the ability to be a fighter for a just cause, and entails connivance with evil and injustice. The communist education of the individual and the masses, the involvement of people in active participation in building the society of the future, man's awareness of his place in the world, his purpose and capabilities, and his submission to natural and social laws contribute to the gradual eradication of terrorism from the life of individuals and society as a whole.

Synonyms: timidity, timidity, cowardice, suspiciousness, indecision, hesitation, fear; apprehension, fear, shyness, cowardice, timidity, fearfulness, capitulation, cowardice, cowardice.

Quotes for the final essay 2018 in the direction of “Courage and Cowardice.”

Be bold with the truth

He who dared ate (and mounted a horse)

Courage is the beginning of victory. (Plutarch)

Courage, bordering on recklessness, contains more madness than fortitude. (M. Cervantes)

When you are afraid, act boldly, and you will avoid the worst troubles. (G. Sachs)

To be completely devoid of courage, one must be completely devoid of desires. (Helvetius K.)

It is easier to find people who voluntarily go to death than those who patiently endure pain. (Yu. Caesar)

He who is courageous is brave. (Cicero)

There is no need to confuse courage with arrogance and rudeness: there is nothing more dissimilar both in its source and in its result. (J.J. Rousseau)

Excessive courage is the same vice as excessive timidity. (B. Johnson)

Courage, which is based on prudence, is not called recklessness, but the exploits of a reckless person should rather be attributed to simple luck than to his courage. (M. Cervantes)

In battle those most exposed to danger are those who are most possessed by fear; courage is like a wall. (Sallust)

Courage replaces fortress walls. (Sallust)

To be brave means to consider everything that is scary as distant and everything that inspires courage as close. (Aristotle)

Heroism is an artificial concept, because courage is relative. (F. Bacon)

Others show courage without having it, but there is no person who would demonstrate wit if he were not naturally witty. (J. Halifax)

Real courage rarely comes without stupidity. (F. Bacon)

Ignorance makes people bold, but reflection makes people indecisive. (Thucydides)

Knowing in advance what you want to do gives you courage and ease. (D. Diderot)

It is not for nothing that courage is considered the highest virtue - after all, courage is the key to other positive qualities. (W. Churchill)

Courage is resistance to fear, not the absence of it. (M. Twain)

Happy is he who boldly takes under his protection what he loves. (Ovid)

Creativity requires courage. (A. Matisse)

It takes a lot of courage to bring bad news to people. (R. Branson)

The success of science is a matter of time and courage of mind. (Voltaire)

To use your own reason requires remarkable courage. (E. Burke)

Fear can make a daredevil timid, but it gives courage to the indecisive. (O. Balzac)

A person fears only what he does not know; knowledge conquers all fear. (V. G. Belinsky)

A coward is more dangerous than any other person; he should be feared most of all. (L. Berne)

There is nothing worse than fear itself. (F. Bacon)

Cowardice can never be moral. (M. Gandhi)

A coward only makes threats when he is sure of safety. (I. Goethe)

You can never live happily when you are always trembling with fear. (P. Holbach)

Cowardice is very harmful because it keeps the will from useful actions. (R. Descartes)

We consider a coward to be a coward who allows his friend to be insulted in his presence. (D. Diderot)

Cowardice in its prime turns into cruelty. (G. Ibsen)

He who fearfully worries about losing his life will never rejoice in it. (I. Kant)

The difference between a brave man and a coward is that the first, aware of the danger, does not feel fear, and the second feels fear, not realizing the danger. (V. O. Klyuchevsky)

Cowardice is knowing what you should do and not doing it. (Confucius)

Fear makes the smart stupid and the strong weak. (F. Cooper)

A fearful dog barks more than he bites. (Curtius)

More soldiers always die when fleeing than in battle. (S. Lagerlöf)

Fear is a bad teacher. (Pliny the Younger)

Fear arises due to the powerlessness of the spirit. (B. Spinoza)

Scared - half defeated. (A.V. Suvorov)

Cowards speak most about courage, and scoundrels speak most about nobility. (A.N. Tolstoy)

Cowardice is inertia that prevents us from asserting our freedom and independence in relationships with others. (I. Fichte)

Cowards die many times before death, the brave die only once. (W. Shakespeare)

To be afraid of love is to be afraid of life, and to be afraid of life is to be two-thirds dead. (Bertrand Russell)

Love doesn't go well with fear. (N. Machiavelli)

You cannot love either the one you fear or the one who fears you. (Cicero)

Courage is like love: it needs to be fueled by hope. (N. Bonaparte)

Perfect love casts out fear, because in fear there is torment; he who fears is not perfect in love. (Apostle John)