Let's talk about a phenomenon that people despise, but it can be either difficult or impossible to get rid of it. It is, of course, about cowardice. Today we will reveal the meaning of the concept of "coward". This object of study is not as unambiguous as it might seem at first glance.
Meaning
Of course, almost everyone can give their own definition. But we need objectivity, so let's turn to the explanatory dictionary. A coward is “a person who easily gives in to feelings of fear.” A wonderful definition, capacious and strictly to the point. Indeed, it is fear that makes people cowards. But the catch is that it's completely normal to be afraid. Through the horror of something, the instinct of self-preservation reveals itself. So, it's not about the fear and horror that arise. The fact is that a person cannot control his emotions in the face of danger. He lacks will, endurance, perhaps patience.
Desire to live and cowardice
Is it possible to reproach a person for wanting to live? Yes, Freud, at a difficult time in his life, invented or came up with a theory that there aretwo forces - eros and thanatos. And each of them is equal in its rights, moreover, thanatos is even more energetic, for every life ends with death. And the ultimate conclusion of the founder of psychoanalysis is this: the living tends to die. But the real practice of the message does not confirm, but rather refutes: the biological always wants to live.
Remember the wonderful episode of the film "Braveheart" (1995), when W. Wallace persuades him to fight the British, and he is told that if they run away now, they will live? The military leader recognizes the validity of these words, but contrasts the image of a quiet, boring old age with the image of a heroic death in the battle for freedom. And those who were cowardly some time ago rush into the fray with enthusiasm. Someone will say that this is, they say, Hollywood. Everything goes into the external effect. But somehow people got inspired? And there are no battles without casu alties. This means that a person is not so much afraid of dying as that his death will be meaningless. If a man fears the same thing, can he be considered a coward? This is an open question.
Synonyms
Let's stop thinking about the phenomenon of excessive fear in the face of danger with synonyms for the noun "coward". The list is as follows:
- bunny;
- hare soul;
- anika warrior;
- cowardly;
- wet chicken.
Unfortunately, this time it is impossible to please the reader with an abundance of synonyms on the topic. It's also a matter of censorship. Most of the definitions that arise, we cannot place here for moral reasons.considerations, for they are indecent. Anika the warrior is an allegorical expression for a person who boasts of courage far from real danger. The image is rooted in Russian folklore. In short, the essence of the story is this: one warrior boasted of his valor and offended the defenseless. Then on some road he met Death, and he also rushes at her, not knowing fear. The snub-nosed warrior, of course, wins, and he begs for mercy, but Death takes him to his kingdom. Moral: It's okay to be a coward, at least sometimes.
Courage as an object of manipulation
Sometimes when a person is known to be terribly brave, cunning people can play on this weakness. On the one hand, courage is a virtue, but on the other hand, when it degenerates into bravado, it is a disadvantage.
Let's remember the almost textbook example of Marty McFly, who from part to part of the famous film epic "Back to the Future" came across on the same thing - an inferiority complex. Marty was afraid that those around him would think that he was a coward (the meaning of the word does not need to be explained). The scriptwriters made the character play the same situation again and again, like skilled therapists, so that the hero finally made the right conclusion: the opinion of others is not the most important thing in life.
Everything is good in moderation
Probably the reader has already thought that we are defending cowards and their shameful habits. But no, the idea is completely different. The latter is reflected in the title of the sub title. To the question of what a coward and cowardice are, one can answer indifferently. Everyone knows the classic character, the protagonist of the story "The Man in the Case", who was totally afraid of life, any of its manifestations. And the famous phrase “No matter what happens” has become a real motto. And then the conditional case became quite real. Such a phenomenon can hardly be called cowardice. The hero of A. P. Chekhov's soul was simply numb with fear - this is one extreme. The other extreme is when a person rushes into all serious troubles without thinking about the consequences.
For example, it may be that a person is manipulated by other people in their own interests. Knowing about the tendency to bravado, you can bring trouble on the head of the "brave" and stay away yourself. When the daredevil realizes that he has been framed, it will be too late. And there are so many stories like that. Caution is one thing, and cowardice and a coward are quite another, the definition of the last characteristic of a person has already been given by us a little earlier. When they talk about the first quality, as a rule, they praise a person, and when they talk about the second, they scold. But subjectively, both cowardice and caution are fed from the same source - the instinct of self-preservation, that is, fear. In other words, cowardice is nominally vile and low, but it is not worth judging someone for cowardice without knowing the details. Fear is a completely natural reaction, even though it is socially condemned.
