Q0489
“Courage is the self-affirmation of being in spite of the fact of…” — Paul Tillich (The Courage to Be)
Verified English quotation. Primary source: The Courage to Be. Theme: courage.
English
Courage is the self-affirmation of being in spite of the fact of nonbeing.
Source and attribution
The archive attributes this English wording to The Courage to Be and files it under Religious Existentialism. That locator distinguishes the passage from loose internet attributions: readers can return to the named work or section to check translation, surrounding argument, and edition-specific wording.
About Paul Tillich
Paul Tillich (1886–1965) was a German-American Protestant theologian and philosopher of religion who fled Nazism for Union Seminary, Harvard, and Chicago. The Courage to Be and Systematic Theology correlatively linked existential questions to Christian symbols.
How to read this passage
Philosophers ask whether courage is fearlessness or right action amid fear, and how it relates to recklessness, endurance, and moral courage in public life. This passage enters that discussion through courage, being, affirmation.
Concepts in this quote
- Courage
- Courage is the virtue of facing fear without abandoning judgment—central to ethics from Aristotle to modern existential resolve.
- Being
- Being appears in this archive as a live philosophical concern—not a slogan. These verified English passages show how thinkers treat being as a problem of judgment, practice, or explanation.
- Affirmation
- Affirmation appears in this archive as a live philosophical concern—not a slogan. These verified English passages show how thinkers treat affirmation as a problem of judgment, practice, or explanation.
How to cite this quotation
APA: Paul Tillich. (n.d.). Courage is the self-affirmation of being in spite of the fact of nonbeing. In Philosophy Blind Box. https://www.philosophydef.com/quotes/q0489
MLA: Paul Tillich. “Courage is the self-affirmation of being in spite….” Philosophy Blind Box, https://www.philosophydef.com/quotes/q0489.
Chicago: Paul Tillich. “Courage is the self-affirmation of being in spite….” Philosophy Blind Box. Accessed 2026. https://www.philosophydef.com/quotes/q0489.
Frequently asked questions
What is the source of the quotation “Courage is the self-affirmation of being in spite…”?
The passage is attributed to Paul Tillich, The Courage to Be. The archive attributes this English wording to The Courage to Be and files it under Religious Existentialism. That locator distinguishes the passage from loose internet attributions: readers can return to the named work or section to check translation, surrounding argument, and edition-specific wording.
What does Paul Tillich mean by courage?
Philosophers ask whether courage is fearlessness or right action amid fear, and how it relates to recklessness, endurance, and moral courage in public life. This passage enters that discussion through courage, being, affirmation.