The courage to be vulnerable: philosophical considerations

ABSTRACT The central thesis of this essay is that, in addressing the many disruptive experiences people have in current times, Tillich’s notion of ‘the courage to be’ should be complemented by the notion of the ‘courage to be vulnerable’. In adding this idea, it is argued that courage should focus less on the anxieties of emptiness, guilt and death of the individual, but rather to being carried, becoming and appearing to each other. Philosophical support for this proposed modification has been found in the notion of ‘natality’, coined by Hannah Arendt, by which she expresses the wonder of being born, and the meanings three feminist scholars, Stone, Brison and Cavarero ascribed to it. First, people are both fundamentally and situationally vulnerable due to their ‘being carried and being born’ physically. Secondly, human beings could experience a ‘second birth’ by starting something new. And thirdly, people could have another ‘birth’ by fostering the courage to disclose themselves and their vulnerability to the other. However, this courage to be vulnerable must be facilitated by communities-with-a-heart, which embrace reciprocity, interdependency and a plurality of experiences, leading to people becoming each other’s witness in times of disruption and pursuing activities of faith, hope and love.