The Titanic

Aristotle was obsessed by virtues and vices. I love his perspective that behavior categories fall on a measurable spectrum, with a virtue on one end and a vice on the other end. For example, we can all agree that courage is a virtue that’s not common? We know courage when we see it in the moment, and that it’s somewhat rare.

If behavior’s on a spectrum, then what’s at the other end of the continuum from “courage?” What’s the vice that’s at the other end, opposite from courage? Cowardice? Recklessness?

I believe it was CS Lewis who said that courage is the basis for all virtues. Said another way, the obstacle that prevents people from displaying more virtues is “lack of courage.” So is it true that, with courage, we can become a more virtuous and flourishing person who’s valued more by others? My response would be “yes” to that. This reminder from the historical story of the Titanic helps us put this in perspective.

Maybe courage is the one thing we should all think more about. I’ve heard brave soldiers as well as first responders explain their willingness to “run towards the danger” when every fiber is telling them to run away. Consistently they say they just followed their training. Training? What kind of training?

Repetitive training for what to do in dangerous situations. Over and over they drill, step-by-step, what to do to eliminate the danger so that when facing danger, they just start going through the steps. They still feel the fear, but they’ve trained themselves to just put one foot in front of the other, taking the actions necessary to solve the problem.

When asked if he ever fears his huge business gambles, I’ve heard Elon Musk share that he feels the fear quite a bit, but sometimes the outcome is so important, you just do the courageous thing anyway.

Heroism such as described on the Titanic is hard to imagine, but I have to think these people in the story had invested much time and thought, before the disaster, focusing on things more important than money. Seems to me you have to be really clear about what matters most, before you behave with heroism like that.

Is that the lesson? Maybe we should seek out uncomfortable situations, so we can practice being more courageous, or at least less cowardly? Maybe we should invest more regular time deciding what matters most? Thinking about those things that matter more than money to us.

A friend of mine told me that Roy Disney, Walt’s brother, was quoted as saying about his brother, “when your values are clear, your decisions are easy.”

For me, the lesson of this story about the Titanic is to think more about my values. If virtues are simply, “values in action,” then I should invest more time and effort being really clear about my values. Thinking more about the “me” I aspire to be. Then when placed in danger I’ll take actions that, while dangerous …even deadly, will be perfectly aligned with my values.

Thanks for sharing this story from history