Moral courage is a higher virtue than intellectual courage

Moral courage is the courage to act on what one believes to be true in the face of opposition. Intellectual courage is the courage to believe what the evidence suggests in the face of opposition. Of the two virtues, the former is more important. <br><br>If one is intellectually courageous but not morally courageous, they could go through life speaking the truth consistently but never acting on it. But if one is morally courageous but not intellectually courageous, at least they will act in accordance with their beliefs, even if they are misguided. <br><br>We should all strive to be intellectually courageous because it is a more important virtue to consistently believe the truth. But because truth itself is meant to guide our actions, acting on that truth is more important than forming beliefs that comply with reality: thus moral courage is a higher virtue than intellectual courage. <br><br>The world could use more intellectually courageous people, but it certainly needs more morally courageous people.