Radical Courage: Bartolomé de Las Casas and his defense of the American Indians

Abstract

Introduction: In his book Radical Hope. Ethics in the face of cultural devastation (2006) Jonathan Lear elaborates on the importance of studying historical contexts in order to achieve a deeper understanding of ethics (8).¹ Writing on how Native American Chief Plenty Coup (1848-1932) dealt with the devastation of the Crow people's way of life, Lear goes beyond the classical definitions of concepts like hope and courage, reinterpreting them in terms of their 'radical' character.