The purposes of this research were to discover the structure of the experience of having courage and to contribute to knowledge about human becoming. Participants were 10 persons with spinal cord injuries. The Parse research method was used to answer the research question, What is the structure of the lived experience of having courage? The central finding of this study is the following structure: The lived experience of having courage is a fortifying tenacity arising with triumph amid the burdensome, while guarded confidence emerges with the treasured. The findings are discussed in relation to human becoming, relevant literature, and future research.
Aquinas, T. (1964). Virtue. In Summa theologica (23 Ia2ae., pp. 55-67). McGraw-Hill.
2.
Aristotle . (1985). Nicomachean ethics (T. Irwin, Trans.). Indianapolis, IN: Hackett. (Original work written 384-322 B.C.)
3.
Asarian, R. D. (1981). The psychology of courage: A human scientific investigation (Doctoral dissertation, Duquesne University, 1981). Dissertation Abstracts International, 42(05B), 2023.
4.
Bournes, D. A. (2000a). Concept inventing: A process for creating a unitary definition of having courage. Nursing Science Quarterly, 13, 143-149.
5.
Bournes, D. A. (2000b). Having courage: A lived experience of human becoming (Doctoral dissertation, Loyola University Chicago, 2000). Dissertation Abstracts International, 61(04B), 1867.
6.
Donohue-Porter, P. (1987). The role of courage in the experience of patients with diabetes complications (Doctoral dissertation, Adelphi University, 1987). Dissertation Abstracts International, 48(04B), 1003.
7.
Finfgeld, D. L. (1992). Courage in the chronically ill elderly: A grounded theory study (Doctoral dissertation, University of Texas at Austin, 1992). Dissertation Abstracts International, 53(04B), 1783.
8.
Finfgeld, D. L. (1998). Courage in middle-aged adults with long-term health concerns. Canadian Journal of Nursing Research, 30(1), 153-169.
9.
Kennedy, J. F. (1961). Profiles in courage. New York: Harper & Brothers. (Original work published 1955).
10.
Kohut, H. (1992). On courage. In D. Capps & R. K. Fenn (Eds.), Individualism reconsidered: Readings bearing on the endangered self in modern society. Princeton, NJ: Princeton Theological Seminary, Center for Religion, Self, and Society.
11.
Lawrence, L. (1993). The lived experience of courage in the seriously mentally ill: A hero’s journey (Master’s thesis, University of Arizona, 1993). Master’s Abstracts International, 32(05), 1372.
12.
Lucas, L. L. (1994). The role of courage in transformative learning (Doctoral dissertation, University of Wisconsin-Madison, 1994). Dissertation Abstracts International, 56(01A), 60.
13.
May, R. (1975). The courage to create. New York: Norton.
14.
Murray, J.A.H. , Bradley, H., Craigie, W. A., & Onions, L. T. (Eds.). (1989). The Oxford English dictionary (3rd ed.). Oxford, UK: Clarendon.
15.
Oppenheim, J. A. (1996). Courage: Towards an understanding of its meaning, its role in women’s lives, and its application to psychology (Doctoral dissertation, Rutgers: The State University of New Jersey, 1996). Dissertation Abstracts International, 57(11B), 7232.
16.
Parse, R. R. (1981). Man-living-health: A theory of nursing. New York: Wiley.
17.
Parse, R. R. (1990). Health: A personal commitment. Nursing Science Quarterly, 3, 136-140.
18.
Parse, R. R. (1998). The human becoming school of thought: A perspective for nurses and other health professionals. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.
19.
Parse, R. R. (1999). Hope: An international human becoming perspective. Sudbury, MA: Jones and Bartlett.
20.
Parse, R. R. (2001). Qualitative inquiry: The path of sciencing. Sudbury, MA: Jones and Bartlett.
21.
Rachman, S. J. (1978). Fear and courage. San Francisco: W. H. Freeman.
22.
Rorty, A. O. (1988). Mind in action: Essays in the philosophy of mind. Boston: Beacon.
23.
Schimel, R. M. (1990). Becoming courageous: A search for process (Doctoral dissertation, George Washington University, 1990). Dissertation Abstracts International, 51(05A), 1771.
24.
Servan-Schreiber, J. (1987). The return of courage (F. Frenay, Trans.). New York: Addison-Wesley.
25.
Tillich, P. (1952). The courage to be. New Haven, CT: Yale University Press.
