the courage to be
- Elaine
- Aug 27
- 4 min read
Updated: Aug 27
Paul Tillich is an Existential Theologian and his book is one of the great philosophical treatises on courage.
Tillich defines courage as “the self-affirmation of one’s being in spite of non-being.”
Being = our existence, identity, and vitality.
Non-being = threats to our existence: death, guilt, meaninglessness, doubt.
Courage is not bravado or recklessness. It is the existential act of saying yes to life even when life is fragile, uncertain, and finite.
The Types of Existential Anxiety
Before outlining courage, Tillich maps three fundamental human anxieties:
Fate and Death – the fear that life will end or be cut short by forces beyond control.
Guilt and Condemnation – the fear of moral failure, unworthiness, being judged.
Emptiness and Meaninglessness – the fear that life has no purpose or value.
Each form of anxiety demands courage to withstand and transcend it.
Three Forms of Courage
1. The Courage of Confidence
This is rooted in classical Stoicism and medieval Christianity. It is the courage to trust in the order of the cosmos or God’s providence, despite fate and death.
Example: A Stoic accepts mortality serenely because they trust reason/nature; a Christian martyr endures suffering because they trust divine salvation.
Strength: It calms fear of fate and death.
Limitation: If too dependent on an external order (God, nature, destiny), it can collapse when that order is doubted.
2. The Courage of Participation
Courage arises from belonging to something greater: community, tradition, nation, or humanity itself. You affirm your being by affirming your part in a collective “whole.”
Example: A soldier risks their life for their people; a citizen speaks out for democracy despite danger.
Strength: Counters isolation, gives meaning through connection.
Limitation: Can slide into conformity, nationalism, or suppression of individuality.
3. The Courage of Self-Affirmation
This type of courage is the most existential form. You affirm your personal being even when isolated, anxious, and without guarantees of higher order or community.
Example: The existential individual (Kierkegaard’s knight of faith, Nietzsche’s Übermensch) who stands alone, affirming life without certainty.
Strength: It faces directly the modern condition of doubt, nihilism, and alienation.
Limitation: Risk of despair, solipsism, or unbearable loneliness if Self is the only anchor.
Tillich’s Synthesis: The Courage to Be as Part of the Whole
Tillich doesn’t see the three forms as mutually exclusive. His synthesis or what I call Integration is ...
Courage requires participation (connection with others), confidence (trust in ultimate meaning),and self-affirmation (owning your individual being).
Ultimately, Tillich argues that the fullest courage comes from “the courage to accept acceptance”—recognizing that you are already held in being by what he calls the “God above the God of theism.” I take that to mean, that ultimately, courage comes from a belief that Life Force is always within you, and truly, truly knowing and understanding and connecting to this, is the absolute base of grounded, deep, true courage, regardless of what life throws at you.
Spirit holds you. It is embedded in your very being.
So, find your truth ... the truth of your Identity,
the truth of what matters to you,
the truth of what life is.
Courage is a spirited step towards
and with it may come sacrifice, so great is your
trust, belief and faith in that which you act on.
Tillich’s theological summary is true courage comes from affirming yourself not by willpower alone, but by resting in the ground of being—a dimension of existence deeper than personal or cultural constructs of God.
Why This Matters Today We know that life is full of unexpected quakes, or stressors, which unattended, becomes chronic. Tillich reframes courage as existential necessity, not just heroic virtue.
Confidence → resilience in the face of illness, mortality.
Participation → belonging, authenticity in groups, relational courage.
Self-affirmation → individuation, finding your voice, facing meaninglessness.
The “courage to be” is foundational for contentment and appreciation: without it, happiness is brittle, and easily shattered by anxiety or loss.
The Neuroscience of Courage
I find this to be a beautiful treatise, however, I thought you might also find it useful to understand the neuroscience, the materialist form that the psychology of courage produces:
Courage is:
Approach behavior under threat:
the prefrontal cortex regulates the amygdala so you can take a valued action despite fear;
the anterior cingulate tracks conflict;
dopamine rewards progress, reinforcing future approach;
locus coeruleus/noradrenaline tunes arousal so you can mobilize without tipping into panic.
In short: courage = regulated approach under uncertainty. So we may ask ourselves, how do we create enough internal psychological safety to step toward?
Test this out...
Here is an exercise you can do. Remember counteractive strategies are short-term fixes. Paul Tillich is asking us to go much, much deeper, so that courage is deeply integrated into our soul, and from that, taking action has an ease. It just is.
Breathe, and get curious about what you are afraid of.
Ask ... “What are you afraid would happen if we did this?”
Appreciate its positive intent;
Negotiate a trial step it can tolerate e.g., “We’ll try for 5 minutes, then reassess”.
Afterward, update the part that was afraid with the results—this is how you earn internal trust.
The more I work with my clients, whether personal or business, the more I love, deeply love, their courage. It inspires me. Deeply. Truly.
