The Courage To Be: The Philosophy Of Self-Confidence

We often hear that in order to live a happy life, we need to believe in ourselves, to have confidence in ourselves. But what does it really mean? How do we become confident in a world that we cannot control? This course will show you different ways that philosophers have been understanding and explaining self-confidence, as well as tips that you can use in your everyday life to feel more confident. We will focus on the philosophies of Emerson, Nietzsche, Stoicism, and French Existentialism. Each course will be as simple and short as possible yet packed with valuable insights. So let’s start!

Lección 1: The Philosophy Of Emerson: Self-Confidence As Self-Reliance

The American philosopher Emerson wrote on the concept of self-confidence understood as the combination of self-reliance, transcendantalism as well as individualism. According to Emerson, people must believe in their own intuition above anything else and reject the opinions of others in order to connect with the divine.

Lección 2: Stoicism: Self-Confidence As Trusting Your Inner Genius

We will focus on the Stoic philosophy: a great way to release self-doubt and stop caring about what you cannot control, but instead focus on what you can change. Self-confidence, according to Stoics, doesn't come from ego; it comes from trusting our "inner genius".

Lección 3: The Philosophy Of Nietzsche: Self-Confidence As Creativity

We will focus on the philosophy of Nietzsche as the understanding of self-confidence as creativity. To Nietzsche, the highest creation is the one we create when we shape ourselves: following the ideal of the Übermensch or Over Man, Nietzsche tells us that we have to choose ourselves before the crowd.

Lección 4: French Existentialism: Self-Confidence As Existential Courage

We will focus on French existentialism and its understanding of self-confidence as becoming confident in our own being through living authentically. Authenticity is a combination of accepting my freedom radically and using my freedom to create meaning despite the absurdity of life. Self-confidence is existential courage.