essay on hope

Essays About Hope: Top 5 Examples Plus 5 Prompts

No matter what happens in life, we all have hopes and dreams. If you are writing essays about hope, you can start by reading our top examples and prompts.

Hope is said to be “the remedy for grief and despair.” It allows us to long for better days whenever we are feeling down. When we are hopeful, it is as if we are trying to wish or manifest for something to happen; we sincerely anticipate whatever we are hoping for.

Hope is an important feeling since it keeps us optimistic, but like all things, it is not good in excess. We often get lost in our hope and let it delude us into thinking the most unrealistic things. It is good to hope, but you should not allow it to get the best of you.

5 Top Essay Examples

1. a reflection of hope by shannon cohen, 2. my hopes & dreams by celia robinson, 3. hope: the forgotten virtue of our time. by paul j. wadell, 4. an ideal of hope by jonathan belle.

• 5. ​​Hope and Reality by Greg Arnold

1. What Is Hope?

2. what do you hope for your future, 3. what makes me hopeful, 4. feeling hopeless in life, 5. how to help others be more hopeful.

“Hope is a fighter. Hope may flicker or falter but doesn’t quit. Hope reminds us that we are Teflon tough, able to withstand the dings, scratches, and burns of life. Hope is the quintessential “hype-man.” Hope will have you raise the roof, jump up and down, and rock side to side believing that you are magic, your dreams are within reach, and your life is greater than your present circumstances. We All Need Hope.”

Intertwined with quotes about hope, Cohen’s essay describes the many roles that hope can play in our lives. With hope, we can learn from our mistakes and improve ourselves. It fuels us to achieve our goals, helps us keep persevering, and inspires us. We are also the products of our ancestors’ hopes and dreams. 

“As I have mentioned earlier, everyone wants to become successful in the future. I do also; I want to go University, yet I haven’t decided what for so far. I want to grow up and make my Parents proud, especially when my Dad’s up there watching over me. I want to be happy. But every step I take, has the potential of changing my entire path, where my life is leading. So I must live life to the full, no matter what. Hope is something everyone needs.”

Robinson reflects on what she is hopeful for, recalling her childhood fantasies of living an idyllic, magical life. She discusses her dreams of going to university and making her parents, specifically her deceased father, proud of her. She hopes to live life to the fullest and for a better world. In particular, she hopes to see the day when cancer is no longer as severe an issue as it is today. Hope is important and is something everyone should have. 

“Hope keeps us from being so immersed in the good things of this world that we forget who we really are, a people on the move, pilgrims who are called not to stay put but to move toward the feast. Most of all, hope prevents us from becoming so comfortable with the pleasures of life that the possibility of a journey never even occurs to us.”

Wadell writes about hope from a Christian point of view; however, his message speaks to everyone. He gives readers a brief history of hope as a virtue in Christianity, saying that hope should be directed towards God and his kingdom. Hope allows us to appreciate all that is good in the world while keeping us longing for more. To nurture our feelings of hope, Wadell says that we must practice gratitude and spread hope to others. 

“Hope is important because hope involves the will to get there, and different paths for you to take. Life can be difficult and that shouldn’t come as a surprise to anyone. Yet, hope allows you to keep going down different roads, to see things different, and to try and make things for your perfect ideal. This hold true, even when there seems like there isn’t a solution.”

In this essay, Bell writes about his interpretation of hope: it is universal and gives us the will to work for whatever we hope for, not just sitting around and waiting for it to happen. For our hopes to be fulfilled, we must also put in the work. Bell also writes that you can strengthen your sense of hope by surrounding yourself with positive people and planning your goals. We are also called to bring hope to others so we can be hopeful for a better future. 

5. ​​ Hope and Reality by Greg Arnold

“Don’t be pessimistic and you have to remember that most of the important things in the world have been accomplished by people who have kept on trying when there seemed to be no hope at all- Dale Carnegie. Finally, it is acceptable to spend some time in hope but don’t live in it, you need to live in reality which is the way in getting things into results.”

Arnold’s essay explains the importance of keeping our hopes grounded in reality, not too optimistic yet not negative as well. We cannot predict the future, but we can at least yearn for the better and strive to work for it to happen. He believes that we should stop being so pessimistic about the world and dream big, for the hopes of many can be accomplished with hard work and determination. 

5 Prompts for Essays About Hope

The definition of hope can differ from person to person, as our experiences shape our sense of hope. In your essay, you can write about what hope means to you. Then, briefly explain why you are hopeful and what you hope for if you wish. You can also check out these essays about jealousy .

We all have our hopes and dreams for our futures. Reflect on hope and share what you hope for in your future and why you hope for it. Perhaps you hope for a long and healthy life or something as simple as hoping for a good grade on your test. The scope can be as small as a few days or ten years, as long as you can share your thoughts clearly and descriptively. 

For your essay, you can write about what makes you hopeful. Describe a person, memory, idea, or whatever else you may choose, and explain why it makes you hopeful. Many things invoke hope, so make sure your essay reflects your personal opinion and includes anecdotes and memories. For example, you may have a relative that you are inspired by, and their success could make you hopeful for your own future.

The world is not perfect, and we all feel despondent and hopeless from time to time. Look back on time you could not bring yourself to hope for better. Discuss what led you to this situation and how you felt. This may be a sensitive topic to write about, so do not go too in-depth if you are not comfortable doing so.

If someone you know is feeling hopeless, chances are you would try to lift their spirits. Address your essay to people who feel hopeless and give tips on improving one’s mental health: they can be as simple as getting more sleep or being outdoors more. For an in-depth piece, cite psychological studies to support your tips.

Grammarly is one of our top grammar checkers. Find out why in this Grammarly review .

For help picking your next essay topic, check out our top essay topics about love .

• Skip to main content
• Skip to secondary menu
• Skip to primary sidebar
• Skip to footer

A Plus Topper

Improve your Grades

Hope Essay | An Essay on Hope for Students and Children in English

February 13, 2024 by sastry

Hope Essay: Hope springs eternal in the human breast, man never is but always to be blest. -Alexander Pope

Auspicious hope in thy sweet garden grows wreaths for each toil, a charm for every woe. -Campbell

Hope is but the dream of those that wake. -Pope

You can read more  Essay Writing  about articles, events, people, sports, technology many more.

Long Essay on Hope 500 Words in English

Below we have given a long essay on Hope of 500 words is helpful for classes 7, 8, 9 and 10 and Competitive Exam Aspirants. This long essay on the topic is suitable for students of class 7 to class 10, and also for competitive exam aspirants.

It is true that we become men because of mighty hopes. Hope is the greatest happiness of man, however much, he may suffer. It is the remedy for all despair and grief. It is the chief blessing of man and hope is always rational visiting a poor man’s hut and a king’s palace. It is the best possession of man. None are completely wretched but those who are without hope. It makes life worthwhile and induces other virtues like courage, perseverance and will to live. It brings smile to parched lips and laughter to desperate hearts.

Only due to hope, we are able to wait for tomorrow and hope is the only commodity which is never ending and is omnipresent, we need to hope. If there is no hope, life will be dull, monotonous and miserable. There will be no aspirations, no goal. Life will be like the stagnant waters of a pool. Life goes on because we can hope. When we fail in our ventures, we are in despair, and disheartened, it is hope and hope alone that sustains us, keeps us alive and inspires us to try again. Hope has the power to teach us to strive to seek, to find and not to yield.

Our freedom struggle was very tough and hard because India is a country which was then divided into small states ruled by kings and there was no unity. There were different castes, different languages and different religions. It was impossible even to dream of freedom from British rule, a powerful empire, but the freedom fighters never lost their hope and today India is a free country.

Hope teaches us never to be disappointed however dark and dangerous the conditions may be and it strengthens our faith in ultimate success. We learn that the dawn is waiting at the end of night. We know that fife is full of ups and downs and mostly downs. There is no one in the world who can claim that he or she never suffered or did not have problems or failures. Problems, pain, suffering, hardships are common occurrences but very tough to bear, unless we can hope that a bright future is awaiting us.

Benefits of hope are too many. It is hope that makes pain worth bearing and with hope in our hearts we are ready to face any calamity. It gives us strength to bear any set back and the loss of any venture and begin again with new and double strength. It enables us to face the battle field of life with courage and undaunting spirit and be the winner in the end. Hope is the only commodity, of which there is no shortage and no taxation. Once Goebel, The Information Minister of Hitler’s regime had said ‘If a fie is spoken many times it becomes the truth’. This statement means if we go on repeating the same thing, people begin to believe in it and it becomes real. The same goes for hope. If we make it our constant, companion, nothing is unreachable or unattainable for us.

Hope lays only one condition. It is that we should never ever forget it or abandon it. We should always keep in mind there is hope for everyone however much, one may have been crushed by circumstances or by other more affluent powerful and crafty human beings.

• Picture Dictionary
• English Speech
• English Slogans
• English Letter Writing
• English Essay Writing
• English Textbook Answers
• Types of Certificates
• ICSE Solutions
• Selina ICSE Solutions
• ML Aggarwal Solutions
• HSSLive Plus One
• HSSLive Plus Two
• Kerala SSLC
• Distance Education

• Yale Divinity School

Reflections

You are here, theologies of hope.

This article is a shortened adaptation of a two-part “For the Life of the World” podcast on the theme of hope that YDS Professor Miroslav Volf posted in summer 2020, produced by the Yale Center for Faith & Culture. You can listen here to podcast Part 1 and Part 2 .

Fear, more than hope, is characteristic of our time. In the late 1960s, we were optimistic about the century’s hopes for the triumph of justice and something like universal peace, but that has given way to increasing pessimism. “No future” scenarios have become plausible to us. As I write in summer 2020, the coronavirus pandemic gives the dominant shape to our anxieties. But even before the pandemic, we feared more than we hoped. We feared and continue to fear falling behind as the gap widens between the ultra-rich and the rest who are condemned to run frantically just to stay in the same place yet often cannot prevent falling behind. We fear the collapse of the ecosystem straining under the burden of our ambitions, the revenge of nature for violence we perpetrate against it. We fear loss of cultural identities as the globe shrinks, and people, driven by war, ecological devastation, and deprivation, migrate to where they can survive and thrive.

Politically, the consequence is the rise of identity politics and nationalism, both driven largely by fear. Culturally, the consequences are dystopian movies and literature, and the popularity of pessimistic philosophies. In religious thought and imagination, too, apocalyptic moods are again in vogue. Hope seems impossible; fear feels overwhelming.

A Thing With Feathers

The Apostle Paul has penned some of the most famous lines about hope ever written: “For in hope we were saved. Now hope that is seen is not hope. For who hopes for what is seen? But if we hope for what we do not see, we wait for it with patience” (Romans 8:24-25). Hope is a strange thing – as Emily Dickinson declares in her famous poem , it’s a “thing with feathers” perched in our soul, ready to take us on its wings to some future good. In fact, hope is a thing that has already taken us to that good with the tune that it sings. In hope – or perhaps by hope – “we were saved,” writes Apostle Paul. In hope, a future good which isn’t yet, somehow already is. A future good we cannot see, which waits in darkness, still qualifies our entire existence. We might be suffering or experiencing “hardship … distress … persecution … famine … nakedness … peril … sword … we are being killed all day long” (Romans 8:18, 35-36), and yet we have been saved and we are saved.

Interpreting the phrase “in hope we are saved,” Martin Luther suggested in his Lectures on Romans that just as love transforms the lover into the beloved, so “hope changes the one who hopes into what is hoped for.” [1]   Thus, a key feature of hope is that it stretches a person into the unknown, the hidden, the darkness of unknown possibility. For Paul this can happen because God is with us – God who gives life to the dead and calls into existence things that do not exist.

Hope vs. Optimism vs. Expectation

When I hope, I expect something in the future. I cannot hope for my 18-year-old son to know how to ride a bike, because he knows that already. But I can hope for him to do well in college, for that’s where he is headed in the fall. Without expectation for the future, there can be no hope. But we don’t hope for everything we can expect in the future. We generally don’t hope for natural occurrences, such as a new day that dawns after a dark and restful night; I know , more or less, that the next day will come. But I may hope for cool breezes to freshen up a hot summer day. We reserve the term “hope” for the expectation of things that we cannot fully control or predict with a high degree of certainty. The way we generally use the word, “hope” can be roughly defined as the expectation of good things that don’t come to us as a matter of course . That’s the distinction between hope and expectation.

The God who creates out of nothing, the God who makes the dead alive, justifies hope that is otherwise unjustifiable.

In his justly famous book Theology of Hope (1964), Jürgen Moltmann, one of the greatest theologians of the second part of the 20th century, made another important distinction, that between hope and optimism. [2] The source of the distinction relates to the specific way some ancient biblical writers understand hope. Optimism, if it is justified, is based on extrapolations we make about the future based upon what we can reasonably discern to be tendencies in the present. Meteorologists observe weather patterns around the globe and release their forecasts for the next day: the day will be unseasonably warm, but in the early afternoon winds will pick up and bring some relief; now you have reason to be optimistic that the afternoon will be pleasant, perhaps you even look forward to sailing your little 12-foot sloop on three-foot swells. Or, to take another scenario, you and your spouse are healthy adults of childbearing age, you have had no trouble conceiving, and the obstetrician tells you that your pregnancy is going well; you have reason to be optimistic that you will give birth to a healthy child. The present contains the seeds of the future, and if it is well with these seeds, the future that will grow will be good as well. That’s reasonable optimism.

Hope, argued Moltmann, is different. Hope is not based on accurate extrapolation about the future from the character of the present; the hoped-for future is not born out of the present. The future good that is the object of hope is a new thing, novum , that comes in part from outside the situation. Correspondingly, hope is, in Emily Dickinson’s felicitous phrase, like a bird that flies in from outside and “perches in the soul.” Optimism in dire situations reveals an inability to understand what is going on or an unwillingness to accept it and is therefore an indication of foolishness or weakness. In contrast, hope during dire situations, hope notwithstanding the circumstances, is a sign of courage and strength.

What is the use of hope not based on evidence or reason, you may wonder? Think of the alternative. What happens when we identify hope with reasonable expectation? Facing the shocking collapse of what we had expected with good reasons, we will slump into hopelessness at the time when we need hope the most! Hope helps us identify signs of hope as signs of hope rather than just anomalies in an otherwise irreparable situation, as indicators of a new dawn rather than the last flickers of a dying light. Hope also helps us to press on with determination and courage. When every course of action by which we could reach the desired future seems destined to failure, when we cannot reasonably draw a line that would connect the terror of the present with future joy, hope remains indomitable and indestructible. When we hope, we always hope against reasonable expectations. That’s why Emily Dickinson’s bird of hope “never stops” singing – in the sore storm, in the chilliest land, on the strangest sea.

Hope Needs Endurance, Endurance Needs Hope

We are most in need of hope under an affliction and menace we cannot control, yet it is in those situations that it is most difficult for us to hold onto hope and not give ourselves over to darkness as our final state. That is where patience and endurance come in. In the same letter to the Romans, in the same passage that celebrates hope and its transformative darkness, Paul writes: “If we hope for what we do not see, we wait for it with patience” (Romans 8:25). “Patience” is here the translation of hypomone , which is better rendered as endurance, or perhaps “patient endurance.” 

Neither patience nor endurance are popular emotions or skills. Our lives are caught in a whirlwind of accelerated changes; we have little endurance for endurance, no patience with patience. Technological advances promise to give us lives of ease; having to endure anything strikes us as a defeat. And yet, when a crisis hits, we need endurance as much as we need hope. Or, more precisely, we need genuine hope, which, to the extent that it is genuine, is marked by endurance.

When the great Apostle says in Romans 8:25 that if we hope, we wait with endurance, he implies that hope generates endurance: because we hope we can endure present suffering. That was his point in the opening statement of the section on suffering in Romans 8:18: “I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worth comparing with the glory about to be revealed to us.” The hope of future glory makes present suffering bearable. But, in Romans 5:3-5, he inverts the relation between hope and endurance. There he writes, “suffering produces endurance, and endurance produces character, and character produces hope.” Now endurance helps generate hope. Putting the two texts together, Romans 8 and Romans 5, we can say: hope needs endurance and endurance needs hope; genuine endurance is marked by hope; and genuine hope is marked by endurance.

The God of Promises

More than half a century after his Theology of Hope , Jürgen Moltmann has written an essay, On Patience (2018), about two aspects of patience we find in the biblical traditions: forbearance and endurance. Writing as a 92-year-old, he begins the second paragraph of this essay on patience autobiographically:

In my youth, I learned to know “the God of hope” and loved the beginnings of a new life with new ideas. But in my old age I am learning to know “the God of patience” and stay in my place in life . [3]

Youth and old age, Moltmann goes on to say, are not about chronology, but about experiences in life and stances toward life. Hope and patience belong both to youth and to old age; they complement each other. He continues:

Without endurance, hope turns superficial and evaporates when it meets first resistances. In hope we start something new, but only endurance helps us persevere. Only tenacious endurance makes hope sustainable. We learn endurance only with the help of hope. On the other hand, when hope gets lost, endurance turns into passivity. Hope turns endurance into active passivity. In hope we affirm the pain that comes with endurance, and learn to tolerate it. [4]

Hope and endurance – neither can be truly itself without the other. And for the Apostle Paul, both our hope and our ability to endure – our enduring hope – are rooted in the character of God. Toward the end of Romans, he highlights both “the God of endurance” (or steadfastness) and “the God of hope” (Romans 15:5, 13). Those who believe in that God – the God who is the hope of Israel, the God who is the hope of Gentiles and the hope of the whole earth – are able to be steadfast and endure fear-inducing situations they cannot change and in which no good future seems to be in sight. But more than just endure. Paul, the persecuted apostle who experienced himself as “always carrying in the body the death of Jesus,” was hoping for more than just endurance from the God of hope. Toward the very end of his letter to the Christians in Rome – in the second of what looks like four endings of the letter – he writes: “May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, so that you may abound in hope by the power of the Holy Spirit” (Romans 15:13). In the midst of affliction, the God of hope opens us up for the possibility of joy and comprehensive well-being.

Our salvation lies in hope, but not in hope that insists on the future good it has imagined, but in hope ready to rejoice in the kind of good that actually comes our way. The God who creates out of nothing, the God who makes dead alive – the God of the original beginning of all things and the God of new beginnings – justifies hope that is otherwise unjustifiable. When that God makes a promise, we can hope.

Miroslav Volf is Henry B. Wright Professor of Theology at YDS and founding director of the Yale Center for Faith & Culture. He is the author of A Public Faith: How Followers of Christ Should Serve the Common Good (Brazos, 2011) and other books.

[1] Martin Luther, Lectures on Romans , edited by Hilton C. Oswald, volume 25 of Luther’s Works , edited by Jaroslav Pelikan and Helmut Lehmann (Concordia Publishing House, 1972), p. 364.

[2] Jürgen Moltmann, Theology of Hope: On the Ground and the Implications of a Christian Eschatology , translated by Margaret Kohl (HarperSanFrancisco, 1991).

[3] Jürgen Moltmann, Über Geduld, Barmherzigkeit und Solidarität (Gütersloher Verlagshaus, 2018), p. 13, my translation.

[4] Moltmann, pp. 13-14.

Essay on Hope 500+ Words

Hope is like a tiny spark that can light up even the darkest of tunnels. In this essay, we’ll explore the remarkable role of hope in our lives, why it’s essential, and how it can inspire us, including 5th-grade students like ourselves.

Defining Hope

Hope is a feeling of optimism and expectation for a positive outcome. It’s like believing that good things are possible, even when life throws challenges our way. Hope gives us the courage to face difficulties with a positive attitude.

The Science of Hope

Science tells us that hope is more than just a feeling; it’s a powerful force that can shape our lives. When we’re hopeful, our brains release chemicals that make us feel happier and more motivated. It’s like having a built-in cheerleader in our heads!

Hope and Resilience

Hope is closely connected to resilience, which is our ability to bounce back from setbacks. When we have hope, we’re better at handling tough times. We see challenges as opportunities to learn and grow, not as roadblocks.

Hope and Success

Hope isn’t just a warm and fuzzy feeling; it’s linked to success. Research shows that hopeful people tend to set and achieve more significant goals. When we believe in ourselves and our abilities, we’re more likely to succeed.

Hope in Education

Hope plays a vital role in our school lives. When we’re hopeful about our studies, we’re more engaged, attentive, and willing to put in the effort. Hope can improve our academic performance and make learning more enjoyable.

Hope and Relationships

Hope isn’t just about personal success; it also affects our relationships. When we have hope, we’re more likely to resolve conflicts positively and maintain healthy connections with friends and family.

Hope in History

Throughout history, hope has been a driving force behind many great achievements. Think about the people who dreamed of exploring space, ending slavery, or achieving equal rights. Their hope inspired them to work tirelessly for a better world.

Cultivating Hope

So, how can we cultivate hope in our lives? One way is to set achievable goals and work towards them. Another is to focus on the positive aspects of our lives, even when things get tough. Surrounding ourselves with supportive and optimistic people can also boost our hope.

Conclusion of Essay on Hope

In conclusion, hope is a magnificent force that can light up our lives and propel us toward success and happiness. It’s not just a feeling; it’s a mindset that helps us face challenges with resilience and optimism. As 5th-grade students, we can embrace hope as a source of motivation and inspiration in our academic journey and our daily lives. Let’s remember that hope is a precious gift we can give ourselves, making our future brighter and more promising. So, no matter what challenges come our way, let’s hold on to hope and let it guide us toward a better tomorrow.

Also Check: List of 500+ Topics for Writing Essay

Essay On Hope – 1000 Words Essay

The word “hope” is a word that has so many different meanings to so many different people. This is because we all have different definitions and thoughts on what hope means to us. Hope can be defined as something that gives you the belief or desire that a specific thing will happen or exist in the future; a feeling of expectation and desire for something desired but not present; an object of hope, especially one characterized by immortality. One such example would be having hope for the survival of life on earth.

For myself, I think that hope is defined as something that will happen in the future. With this definition, I would say that I have hope for the future of our world and society, such as hoping there will be no war or fighting among groups of people anymore. Another hopeful subject would be hoping that there will be no major catastrophes and therefore allowing us to continue to live on in peace and harmony. For me personally, my definition of hope is something that never dies no matter what may happen in life. I think this is a good way to live, even if your hopes aren’t fulfilled, at least you had hope for them and they will always be there. If you are someone who does not have hope for the future of humanity or something else then that’s ok, maybe you can find hope in the little things in life like having fun with a friend or family member.

Hope is one of the most important and powerful emotions that humans experience. Hope brings us forward in life, provides hope for the future, and makes us all feel better about ourselves and our lives. Without hope, we may as well give up on life due to the fact that we will never regain what has been lost or lost again. Hope is what gives meaning to life, it allows us to get an understanding of things we may not have before, and most importantly it allows us to continue living on despite everything we go through in life. Most would agree that without trust there would be no hope.

I think hope is a very big thing to have in life and it is something that can make you feel a certain way or keep you going when things are tough. Hope is an emotion that people should feel because without any hope we would probably just give up, but with hope, we can keep on living and striving for what we want. There are many different ways people look at hope and there are some very passionate beliefs about this emotion as well. I think most agree however that without hope there would be no one who would fight for anything or anything anyone else would do, so it’s only natural that most believe everyone has to have some kind of hope in life.

Always being hopeful and believing in our lives is the most important thing we can do no matter what we go through in life.

Written by Wicky

Leave a reply cancel reply.

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Essay About Money – 2000 Words Essay

Facts about water pollution – everything you need to know.

Essay on Hope

Overview of  Hope

Hope, that elusive yet magical force that whispers promises of better days and brighter tomorrows. The spark ignites our spirits and propels us forward in the face of uncertainty. Hope remains a steadfast companion on life’s journey from the depths of despair to the heights of triumph. It’s the glimmer of light peeking through the darkest clouds, reminding us that even in the bleakest moments, there is reason to believe. So, let’s go on a trip to discover the core of hope and its significant impact on our lives and the world around us.

Importance of hope in human life

Hope holds immense significance in human life as a guiding light through the darkest times and as a beacon of optimism amidst adversity. Various dimensions help us understand its importance.

Watch our Demo Courses and Videos

Valuation, Hadoop, Excel, Mobile Apps, Web Development & many more.

• Mental Well-being: Hope plays a crucial role in maintaining mental health. It gives individuals a sense of purpose and direction, alleviating despair and helplessness. By fostering a positive outlook, hope reduces stress, anxiety, and depression, promoting overall psychological resilience.
• Coping Mechanism: In facing challenges and setbacks, hope empowers individuals to persevere through difficult circumstances. It instills confidence in one’s ability to overcome challenges and adapt to changing circumstances, improving resilience and emotional stability.
• Motivation and Goal-setting: Hope motivates individuals to set and pursue meaningful goals, driving personal growth and development. By envisioning a brighter future and believing in the possibility of positive outcomes, individuals inspire themselves to take proactive steps toward realizing their aspirations, fostering a sense of empowerment and fulfillment.
• Enhanced Relationships: Hope strengthens interpersonal relationships by fostering trust, empathy, and mutual support. Through shared hopes and dreams, individuals connect on a deeper level, offering encouragement and solidarity in times of need. Hope is a unifying force in familial, social, and professional settings, fostering collaboration and collective action toward common goals.
• Resilience in Adversity: During times of crisis and uncertainty, hope is a lifeline, empowering individuals and communities to persevere through adversity. Hope empowers people to adapt to changing circumstances, solve problems creatively, and emerge stronger from adversity by building resilience and resourcefulness.
• Driving Positive Change: Hope fuels innovation, progress, and social change by inspiring individuals to envision a better future and work towards realizing it. From grassroots movements to global initiatives, hope mobilizes collective action, driving positive societal and global transformations.

The Essence of Hope

The essence of hope lies in its ability to transcend adversity and illuminate the path toward a brighter future. At its foundation, hope is a deep conviction in the possibility of happy results, especially in the face of tremendous difficulties and uncertainty.

• Belief in a Positive Outcome: Hope thrives on the conviction that better days lie ahead, regardless of the current circumstances. It is fueled by optimism and faith, inspiring individuals to envision a future filled with possibilities and opportunities for growth and fulfillment.
• Determination and Perseverance: The unwavering determination to overcome obstacles and setbacks is central to the essence of hope. It instills resilience in adversity, empowering individuals to pursue goals and aspirations despite setbacks.
• Future-Oriented Mindset: Hope is inherently forward-looking, anchoring individuals in believing that tomorrow can be better than today. It encourages proactive planning and action as individuals strive to shape their destinies and create the conditions for positive change in their lives and communities.
• Inspiration and Motivation: Hope is a source of inspiration and motivation, driving individuals to aspire to greater heights and strive for excellence in their endeavors. It ignites the human spirit, fueling creativity and innovation and pursuing meaningful goals, contributing to personal growth and fulfillment.
• Resilience in the Face of Adversity: In times of hardship and adversity, hope emerges as a beacon of resilience, offering solace and strength to those grappling with challenges. It provides a sense of purpose and meaning, enabling individuals to weather the storms of life with courage, grace, and dignity.
• Connection and Community: The essence of hope extends beyond individual aspirations to encompass collective endeavors and shared dreams. It fosters a sense of solidarity and unity, bringing people together to pursue common goals and aspirations that transcend boundaries and unite humanity in a shared quest for a brighter future.

The Dynamics of Hope

The dynamics of hope encompass the intricate interplay of cognitive, emotional, and motivational processes that shape individuals’ attitudes, behaviors, and experiences. Understanding the dynamics of hope requires a nuanced exploration of its underlying mechanisms and how they influence human cognition, emotion, and action:

• Future Orientation: Hope is inherently future-oriented, involving the anticipation of positive outcomes and possibilities. Hopeful individuals envision a brighter future and set goals that align with their aspirations.
• Cognitive Appraisal: Hope involves the cognitive appraisal of one’s situation, which entails evaluating the feasibility and attainability of desired outcomes. Positive appraisal processes, such as focusing on strengths and resources, can enhance hopefulness.
• Cognitive Flexibility: Hope fosters cognitive flexibility, allowing individuals to adapt their thinking patterns and problem-solving strategies in response to changing circumstances. This flexibility enables them to explore alternative pathways and solutions when faced with obstacles.
• Positive Affect: Hope is associated with positive emotions such as optimism, joy, and gratitude. These emotions serve as catalysts for hope, fueling individuals’ motivation and resilience in pursuing their goals.
• Emotional Regulation: Hope involves effectively regulating and managing one’s emotions, particularly in adversity or setbacks. Hopeful individuals are better equipped to cope with negative emotions and maintain a sense of optimism and perseverance.
• Emotional Contagion: Hope is contagious and can spread through social interactions and interpersonal relationships. Expressing and sharing hope can inspire optimism and solidarity, fostering community and support.
• Goal Pursuit: Hope motivates individuals to set and pursue meaningful goals, giving them a sense of purpose and direction in life. It fuels their determination and commitment to overcome obstacles and challenges.
• Agency and Efficacy: Hope instills a sense of agency and self-efficacy, empowering individuals to believe in their capacity to influence and shape their destiny. It fosters a proactive mindset and a belief in one’s ability to create positive change.
• Persistence and Resilience: Hope enables individuals to persevere in adversity, maintaining their motivation and resilience even when faced with setbacks or failures. It enables individuals to see challenges as opportunities for growth and learning rather than impassable barriers.

Hope in the Face of Challenges

Hope in the face of hardship demonstrates the human spirit’s resilience, providing a ray of light in the midst of darkness. When confronted with obstacles, setbacks, and hardships, hope is a powerful coping mechanism and a source of inner strength, enabling individuals to persevere and overcome even the most daunting circumstances. Here’s how hope manifests in the face of challenges:

• Resilience Amidst Adversity: Hope empowers individuals to confront adversity with resilience and determination. It instills faith in one’s ability to overcome obstacles, recover from setbacks, and emerge stronger from adversity. By maintaining a sense of hopefulness, individuals are better equipped to weather life’s storms and find meaning and purpose in the face of hardship.
• Positive Mindset: In challenging times, hope fosters a positive mindset that enables individuals to maintain optimism and perspective. Rather than succumbing to despair or resignation, hopeful individuals focus on the potential for growth, learning, and transformation inherent in every challenge. They approach obstacles with curiosity and openness, viewing them as opportunities for personal and collective development.
• Adaptive Coping Strategies: Hope inspires individuals to employ adaptive coping strategies that help them navigate adversity effectively. To cope with problems and setbacks, hopeful persons use various tools and skills, including problem-solving and social support, as well as self-care and resilience-building activities. By embracing flexibility and creativity in their approach to coping, they harness the power of hope to navigate uncertain terrain with grace and resilience.
• Finding Meaning and Purpose: In facing challenges, hope prompts individuals to search for meaning and purpose amidst adversity. It encourages them to reflect on their values, aspirations, and priorities and to discern the lessons and opportunities embedded within difficult experiences. By finding meaning in adversity, hopeful individuals cultivate a sense of resilience and empowerment that enables them to persevere and thrive.
• Supportive Networks and Communities: Hope flourishes in supportive relationships and communities. In times of challenge, individuals draw strength and solace from the encouragement, empathy, and solidarity of those around them. Supportive networks and communities provide a sense of belonging and connection, fostering resilience and hope in adversity.

Nurturing Hope in Daily Life

Nurturing hope daily is essential for maintaining a positive outlook, fostering resilience, and navigating through life’s challenges with optimism and determination. Here are some real-life tips for cultivating and sustaining hope in your everyday experiences:

• Practice Gratitude: Spend time each day cultivating a sense of gratitude for the blessings and possibilities in your life, no matter how small. Keep a thankfulness book, or simply think about what you value, such as relationships, experiences, and moments of joy. Gratitude helps you shift your emphasis from what is missing to what is abundant, instilling hope and abundance.
• Set Realistic Goals: Break down your aspirations and dreams into smaller, manageable goals you can work towards daily. Set SMART goals (Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant, Time-bound) that align with your values and priorities. Celebrate your progress and milestones along the way, and adjust your goals as needed to stay motivated and focused.
• Practice Self-Compassion: Be nice and compassionate to yourself, especially when you are struggling or experiencing difficulties. Be kind with yourself and recognize that setbacks are a normal part of the route to your goals. Take part in self-care activities that feed your mind, body, and spirit. Some examples are exercise, meditation, time spent in nature, and engaging in interests and hobbies.
• Seek Supportive Relationships: Surround yourself with supportive friends, family members, mentors, and community members who uplift and encourage you. Cultivate meaningful connections with people who share your values, aspirations, and interests and inspire you to stay hopeful and resilient in adversity. Reach out for support when you need it, and offer support to others in return.
• Stay Present and Mindful: Practice mindfulness and present-moment awareness to cultivate a sense of calm and clarity amidst life’s uncertainties. Focus on the here and now, and pay attention to your thoughts, emotions, and sensations without judgment. Engage fully in each moment, savoring life’s simple pleasures and finding beauty and meaning in the present moment.
• Find Purpose and Meaning: Reflect on your values, passions, and strengths to discern your sense of purpose and meaning in life. Identify activities, pursuits, and causes that resonate with your values and contribute to a greater sense of purpose and fulfillment. Take part in pursuits that align with your purpose and provide you a feeling of fulfillment and meaning, whether career-related, volunteer-related, artistic, or personal development-oriented.
• Cultivate Hopeful Thinking: Challenge negative thought patterns and cultivate hopeful thinking by focusing on possibilities, solutions, and opportunities for growth. Practice reframing challenges as opportunities for learning and personal development, and maintain a positive outlook even in adversity. Cultivate a sense of optimism about the future, trusting your ability to overcome obstacles and create positive change in your life and the world around you.

Hope as a Catalyst for Change

Hope is a powerful catalyst for change, propelling individuals and communities toward a brighter and more promising future. It ignites a transformative energy that inspires action, fuels determination, and fosters a collective commitment to positive change. Here’s how hope functions as a catalyst for change:

Motivating Action:

• Empowerment: Hope empowers individuals by instilling confidence in their ability to make a difference. When people believe in the possibility of positive change, they are motivated to take action, whether in their personal lives, communities, or on a broader societal level.
• Initiative: Hope stimulates initiative, encouraging individuals to engage with challenges proactively and work towards solutions. It motivates you to push through challenges and take action to make great changes.

Inspiring Innovation:

• Creative Problem-Solving: Hope encourages creative thinking and problem-solving. When faced with challenges, hopeful individuals are more likely to explore innovative solutions, thinking outside the box to find new ways of addressing complex issues.
• Risk-Taking: A hopeful mindset fosters a willingness to take calculated risks to pursue change. It propels individuals to step outside their comfort zones, embrace uncertainty, and experiment with novel ideas and approaches.

Driving Social Change:

• Collective Vision: Hope fosters a collective vision for a better future. When communities share a sense of hope, they are more likely to unite around common goals and work collaboratively towards positive social change.
• Activism and Advocacy: Hope fuels activism and advocacy movements. Whether advocating for social justice, environmental sustainability, or equality, hope mobilizes individuals to stand up for their beliefs, driving movements that can reshape societies.

Building Resilient Communities:

• Solidarity: Hope fosters a sense of solidarity within communities. When people believe in their collective power to create change, they are more likely to support and uplift one another during challenging times, building resilience in the face of adversity.
• Community-Led Initiatives: Hope drives community-led initiatives aimed at addressing local challenges. From grassroots projects to collaborative efforts, hopeful communities take ownership of their future, actively contributing to positive change.

Cultivating a Positive Legacy:

• Long-term Vision: Hope encourages individuals to think about the long-term impact of their actions. It promotes a vision for a positive legacy, inspiring individuals to make choices that contribute to the well-being of future generations.
• Sustainable Change: Hope encourages people to think through the larger implications of their decisions to bring about permanent change. It encourages people to take up habits and actions that support the long-term sustainability and well-being of communities and the environment.

The Dark Side of Hope

Understanding the potential pitfalls and challenges associated with hope allows for a more nuanced perspective on its impact on individuals and societies:

• False Expectations and Disappointment: Hope can lead to overly optimistic expectations, setting individuals up for disappointment when reality does not align with their aspirations. Unrealistic hope can create a gap between expectations and outcomes, potentially causing emotional distress and disillusionment.
• Passivity and Inaction: Excessive hope, particularly when accompanied by a belief that things will improve on their own, may lead to passivity and inaction. Individuals might delay necessary actions or neglect proactive steps to address challenges, assuming that hope alone will bring about positive change.
• Avoidance of Reality: Hope, if taken to an extreme, can act as a shield against facing harsh realities. Some individuals might use hope as a coping mechanism to avoid acknowledging and addressing pressing issues, hindering personal or collective growth.
• Dependency on External Factors: Sometimes, individuals can place hope in external factors or individuals beyond their control. Relying heavily on external sources for hope can lead to powerlessness, especially when those external elements don’t align with one’s expectations.
• Irrational Optimism: Unbridled hope can morph into irrational optimism, where individuals underestimate risks or downplay potential challenges. This can result in poor decision-making, as people may not adequately prepare for or respond to adverse circumstances.
• Interference with Realism: When not tempered by a realistic situation assessment, hope may interfere with the ability to see things objectively. A refusal to acknowledge the severity of a situation may impede the development of effective strategies for coping or problem-solving.
• Manipulation and Exploitation: In some cases, unscrupulous individuals or entities may exploit hope for personal gain. False promises and deceptive practices can prey on the hopeful nature of people, leading to financial, emotional, or psychological exploitation.
• Hopelessness as a Consequence: Paradoxically, an unfulfilled or shattered hope can lead to a sense of hopelessness. People who are consistently let down can grow weary and lose hope in their capacity to bring about constructive change.

Real-life Examples of Hope

Throughout history and across cultures, countless individuals and communities have exemplified the transformative power of hope in the face of adversity, inspiring others with their resilience, courage, and unwavering faith in the possibility of a better tomorrow. Their stories testify to the enduring human spirit and the capacity to find light amidst darkness. Here are some real-life examples of hope:

• Malala Yousafzai : After surviving a Taliban assassination attempt when she was fifteen years old, this Pakistani campaigner for women’s education rose to become a universal symbol of hope. Even in the face of serious threats to her life, Malala persisted in her dedication to promoting girls’ education and human rights . Her resilience and courage inspired millions worldwide, sparking a global movement to ensure access to education for all children, regardless of gender or background. Malala’s unwavering determination and indomitable spirit exemplify the transformative power of hope in the face of adversity.
• Nelson Mandela : In a country ripped apart by racial tyranny and segregation, the former president of South Africa and anti-apartheid rebel emerged as a ray of hope and peace. Mandela remained dedicated to the principles of justice, equality, and forgiveness even after serving 27 years in prison for his activism. Upon his release, Mandela played a pivotal role in dismantling the apartheid regime and ushering in a new era of democracy and reconciliation in South Africa. His remarkable journey from prisoner to president embodies the resilience of the human spirit and the transformative potential of hope in overcoming even the most entrenched systems of injustice.
• Anne Frank : A little Jewish girl has come to represent hope and fortitude in the face of unimaginable tragedy by chronicling her experiences hiding from the Nazis during World War II . Despite living in constant fear and uncertainty, Anne found solace in writing, pouring her thoughts and dreams onto the pages of her diary. Her poignant reflections on love, courage, and humanity continue to inspire generations, offering a testament to the enduring power of hope even in the darkest of times. Even in the worst of situations, optimism may grow and provide light and comfort among the shadows of despair. Anne’s unflinching conviction in the underlying goodness of humanity serves as a reminder of this.
• Rosa Parks : A simple act of disobedience on a segregated bus in Montgomery, Alabama, by Rosa Parks, frequently referred to as the “Mother of the Civil Rights Movement,” sparked resistance and optimism. By refusing to give up her seat to a white passenger, Parks challenged the unjust laws of segregation and galvanized a movement for racial equality and justice. Her courage and determination inspired countless others to join the struggle for civil rights , leading to transformative changes in laws and attitudes across the United States. Parks’ steadfast commitment to justice and equality exemplifies the power of hope to spark movements for social change and ignite the flames of liberation.

Hope is the unwavering force that propels us forward in life’s journey. In our darkest moments, the guiding light illuminates and reminds us that we can change and rejuvenate. In the tapestry of human experience, hope weaves threads of resilience, courage, and optimism. It is not a passive sentiment but an active choice, a commitment to envisioning a brighter tomorrow, even in the face of adversity. As we navigate the complexities of existence, hope remains our steadfast companion, urging us to embrace challenges with a spirit of endurance, believing that each dawn holds the promise of a new beginning.

Here’s a short humorous take on hope:

• Hope is like a credit card. Even when you have no clue how you’re going to pay, it helps you get through the day.
• Hope is like coffee. It might not solve all your problems, but it’ll keep you awake enough to deal with them.
• Hope is starting a DIY project on a Saturday and believes it will be finished by Sunday night. The reality is finding leftover parts on Monday morning.
• In the universe of life, hope is the towel you always carry, just in case things get too wet.
• Procrastination is the art of keeping up with yesterday. Hope is believing you can start tomorrow.
• Hope is like the weather forecast. You hope it’ll be sunny, but sometimes you end up singing in the rain.
• Hope is like Wi-Fi. It’s invisible, but you know it’s there because things work better when you have it.
• Hope is planting seeds in tomorrow’s garden, even when you’re unsure if you’ll ever get to see the flowers.

*Please provide your correct email id. Login details for this Free course will be emailed to you

By signing up, you agree to our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy .

Valuation, Hadoop, Excel, Web Development & many more.

Forgot Password?

This website or its third-party tools use cookies, which are necessary to its functioning and required to achieve the purposes illustrated in the cookie policy. By closing this banner, scrolling this page, clicking a link or continuing to browse otherwise, you agree to our Privacy Policy

Explore 1000+ varieties of Mock tests View more

Submit Next Question

🚀 Limited Time Offer! - 🎁 ENROLL NOW

1000-Word Philosophy: An Introductory Anthology

Philosophy, One Thousand Words at a Time

Authors: Michael Milona and Katie Stockdale Categories: Ethics , Epistemology ,  Philosophy of Religion , Social & Political Philosophy Word Count: 994

Hope is ubiquitous: family members express hope that we find love and happiness, politicians call for hope in response to tragedies, and optimists urge people to keep their hopes up. We also tell ourselves to maintain hope, to find it, or in darker moments, to give it up. We hope for frivolous things, too.

But what is hope? Can hope be rational or irrational? Is hope valuable? Is it ever dangerous?

This essay reviews recent important answers to these questions with the goal of better understanding hope. [1]

Karl Robert Bodek and Kurt Conrad Löw, One Spring, Gurs Camp, 1941

1. what is hope.

The typical starting point for analyzing hope is that it involves a desire for an outcome and a belief that the outcome’s occurring is at least possible . The sense of possibility isn’t merely physical possibility, for we can hope that, say, God perform some miracle that violates the law of gravity. Philosophers tend to think that a person can hope for anything they believe is possible (no matter how low the odds), though it is a separate question whether a hope is rational or not, and to what degree. [2]

But the belief-desire account of hope appears insufficient: we might desire an outcome, and believe that the outcome is possible, yet have absolutely no hope that it will happen! [3] A prisoner facing execution may desire a pardon, believe that a pardon is possible , yet be altogether hopeless that he will be pardoned. [4]

Hope, then, requires more than a desire for something and belief in its possibility. What else?

Luc Bovens argues that hope also requires positive conscious thoughts or “mental imaging” about the desired outcome: basically, fantasizing about the desired outcome occurring. [5] The prisoner facing execution thus hopes for a pardon only if he has pleasant thoughts or imaginations about being pardoned. If hope involves, beyond belief and desire, pleasant thoughts about the outcome occurring, we might be able to distinguish being hopeful for something from being hopeless about it: hope involves pleasant thoughts whereas hopelessness involves unpleasant ones.

Adrienne M. Martin questions whether Bovens’s view adequately distinguishes hope from hopelessness. She argues that a prisoner who is hopeless about the possibility of an overturned conviction may still desire the outcome, believe it possible, and fantasize about being pardoned. [6] To distinguish hope from hopelessness, Martin defends an “incorporation analysis” of hope: [7] the inmate incorporates his desire into his plans, believing that he has reasons to plan and act (e.g., with his lawyer) about the prospects of freedom.

But does hope really require that hopeful people believe that they have reasons to feel, act, and plan in accordance with their desire, as Martin’s view requires? Michael Milona and Katie Stockdale argue that it does not. [8] We sometimes wholly reject our hopes (e.g., to return to a previous bad romantic relationship), believing that that we have no reason for what we hope for. Rejecting a hope, or believing that we should not have that hope, does not mean that this hope is any less of a hope , contrary to what the incorporation analysis suggests: hopes we wish we didn’t have are hopes nevertheless.

Milona and Stockdale develop the idea that hope is akin not to a judgment, but rather, to a perceptual experience . Just as perceivers often judge their perceptions to be misguided (e.g., at magic shows), so too may hopers judge their hopes are misguided. Hope then involves, beyond belief and desire, a perceptual-like experience of reasons to pursue the desired outcome, or to prepare themselves for its possible occurrence. So, in hoping we may experience reasons to, say, return to an ex partner without believing such reasons exist.

In sum, there continue to be significant debates about the nature of hope, most notably what needs to be added to hope (if anything) beyond mere belief and desire.

2. The Rationality and Value of Hope

Hope is generally thought to be epistemically rational if one’s belief about the possibility (or in some cases, the specific likelihood) of the outcome is correct in light of the available evidence. [9]

Hope may be practically rational in a variety of ways as well. Hope is thought to contribute to well-being, motivate the achievement of goals, and inspire courageous action, among other things. [10]

Beyond epistemic and practical rationality, some hopes may even be rational because they are constitutive of who we are (e.g., a member of a certain religion), and to lose such fundamental hopes would be to lose part of our identity. [11]

3. The Dangers of Hope

Hope is not without risks.

Thwarted hopes can result in strong feelings of disappointment. Hope may also be a source of wishful thinking, leading people to see the world as tilting in their favor despite the evidence. [12] For example, hope that the problems of climate change will be effectively addressed might lead someone not to bother with climate change activism or to take any personal responsibility to work to mitigate it.

Hope can also be exploited, such as when politicians take advantage of the hopes of people in positions of powerlessness. For example, people who desperately hope for greater economic security may be influenced to accept policies that primarily serve the politician’s own ends rather than the people’s.

These and other dangers of hope might lead us to explore alternative emotions to hope. Stockdale argues that in the face of persistent injustices, bitterness (i.e., anger without hope) might be a justified emotional response. [13] The relevance of hope to politics and society has also inspired investigation of whether hope is a democratic or political virtue [14] and whether a form of radical hope is needed in the face of cultural devastation and other severe hardships. [15]

4. Conclusion

In a world where our needs and desires are so often met with uncertainty, hope tends to emerge. Philosophy has much to contribute to understanding this phenomenon, and the potential value and risks of hope to all aspects of our lives: personally, socially, morally, intellectually, religiously, politically and more.

[1] Only recently have philosophers given the topic sustained attention.  Some discussions of hope are found in the philosophy of religion (see Augustine, c. 420 [1999]), in existentialist writings (see Marcel, 2010), and in bioethics (see, e.g., Simpson (2004); Murdoch and Scott (2010); McMillan, Walker, and Hope (2014)).

[2] See Chignell (2014) for a discussion of Immanuel Kant’s defense of the rationality of hoping for miracles, divine grace, and a truly ethical society.

[3] Despair has long been considered to be the attitude which is the opposite of hope. This view traces back to St. Thomas Aquinas who argues that despair is the contrary to hope insofar as it implies “withdrawal” from the desired object while hope implies “approach” ( Summa Theologiae II-II.40.4).

[4] The claim that the standard account fails to distinguish hope from hopelessness (or in his terms, despair) is due to Ariel Meirav (2009).

[5] Bovens (1999).

[6] Martin (2013, 18-19).

[7] Moellendorf (2006) defends a similar theory.

[8] Milona and Stockdale (2018).

[9] Martin (2013, 37).

[10] See Bovens (1999) and Kadlac (2015).

[11] Blöser and Stahl (2017).

[12] Bovens (1999).

[13] Stockdale (2017).

[14] See Moellendorf (2006) and Mittleman (2009).

[15] Lear (2006).

Aquinas, Thomas. [1485] 1948. Summa Theologiae . Trans. Fathers of the English Dominican Province. 5 vols. Benziger Brothers.

Augustine. [c. 420] 1999. The Augustine Catechism: The Enchiridion on Faith, Hope, and Charity . Trans. Bruce Harbert. Ed. Boniface Ramsey. Hyde Park, NY: New City Press.

Blöser, Claudia, and Titus Stahl. 2017. “Fundamental Hope and Practical Identity.” Philosophical Papers 46 (3): 345–71.

Bovens, Luc. 1999. “The Value of Hope.” Philosophy and Phenomenological Research 59 (3): 667–81.

Chignell, Andrew. (2014). “Rational Hope, Possibility, and Divine Action.” in Gordon E.

Michalson (ed.), Kant’s Religion within the Bounds of Mere Reason: A Critical Guide . Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, pp. 98-117.

Kadlac, Adam. 2015. “The Virtue of Hope.” Ethical Theory and Moral Practice 18 (2): 337–54.

Lear, Jonathan. 2006. Radical Hope: Ethics in the Face of Cultural Devastation . Cambridge, Mass: Harvard University Press.

Marcel, Gabriel. 2010. Homo Viator: Introduction to the Metaphysic of Hope . Updated ed. South Bend, Ind: St. Augustine’s Press.

Martin, Adrienne. 2013. How We Hope: A Moral Psychology . Princeton: Princeton University Press.

McMillan, John, Simon Walker, and Tony Hope. 2014. “Valuing Hope.” Monash Bioethics Review 32 (1–2): 33–42.

Meirav, Ariel. 2009. “The Nature of Hope.” Ratio 22 (2): 216–33.

Milona, Michael. 2018. “Finding Hope.” Canadian Journal of Philosophy , February, 1–20.

Milona, Michael, and Katie Stockdale. 2018. “A Perceptual Theory of Hope.” Ergo, an Open Access Journal of Philosophy 5.

Mittleman, Alan. 2009. Hope in a Democratic Age: Philosophy, Religion, and Political Theory . New York: Oxford University Press.

Moellendorf, Darrel. 2006. “Hope as a Political Virtue.” Philosophical Papers 35 (3): 413–33.

Murdoch, Charles E., and Christopher Thomas Scott. 2010. “Stem Cell Tourism and the Power of Hope.” The American Journal of Bioethics 10 (5): 16–23.

Simpson, Christy. 2004. “When Hope Makes Us Vulnerable: A Discussion of Patient-Healthcare Provider Interactions in the Context of Hope.” Bioethics 18 (5): 428–47.

Stockdale, Katie. 2017. “Losing Hope: Injustice and Moral Bitterness.” Hypatia 32 (2): 363–79.

PDF Download

Download this essay in PDF .

Related Essays

Is it Wrong to Believe Without Sufficient Evidence? W.K. Clifford’s “The Ethics of Belief” by Spencer Case

Epistemic Justification: What is Rational Belief?  by Todd R. Long

Seemings: Justifying Beliefs Based on How Things Seem by Kaj André Zeller

Introduction to Existentialism by Addison Ellis

Happiness by Kiki Berk

Meaning in Life: What Makes Our Lives Meaningful? by Matthew Pianalto

Nietzsche and the Death of God by Justin Remhof

Pascal’s Wager: A Pragmatic Argument for Belief in God by Liz Jackson

Interpretations of Probability by Thomas Metcalf

About the Authors

Milona Michael is an Assistant Professor of Philosophy at Ryerson University. His principal research interests are at the intersection of ethics, epistemology, and philosophy of mind. michaelmilona.com

Katie Stockdale is an Associate Professor of Philosophy at the University of Victoria. Her research is primarily in ethics (especially moral psychology) and feminist philosophy. kstockdale.com

Follow 1000-Word Philosophy on Facebook  and  Twitter and subscribe to receive email notifications of new essays at 1000WordPhilosophy.com

Share this:, 11 thoughts on “ hope ”.

• Pingback: Seemings: Justifying Beliefs Based on How Things Seem – 1000-Word Philosophy: An Introductory Anthology
• Pingback: The Meaning of Life: What’s the Point? – 1000-Word Philosophy: An Introductory Anthology
• Pingback: Meaning in Life: What Makes Our Lives Meaningful? – 1000-Word Philosophy: An Introductory Anthology
• Pingback: Agnosticism about God’s Existence – 1000-Word Philosophy: An Introductory Anthology
• Pingback: Pascal’s Wager: A Pragmatic Argument for Belief in God – 1000-Word Philosophy: An Introductory Anthology
• Pingback: What Is It To Love Someone? – 1000-Word Philosophy: An Introductory Anthology
• Pingback: Is Death Bad? Epicurus and Lucretius on the Fear of Death – 1000-Word Philosophy: An Introductory Anthology
• Pingback: Is Immortality Desirable? – 1000-Word Philosophy: An Introductory Anthology
• Pingback: Camus on the Absurd: The Myth of Sisyphus – 1000-Word Philosophy: An Introductory Anthology
• Pingback: Nietzsche and the Death of God – 1000-Word Philosophy: An Introductory Anthology
• Pingback: Online Philosophy Resources Weekly Update - Daily Nous

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Save my name, email, and website in this browser for the next time I comment.

Notify me of new posts by email.

• Environment
• Information Science
• Social Issues
• Argumentative
• Cause and Effect
• Classification
• Compare and Contrast
• Descriptive
• Exemplification
• Informative
• Controversial
• Exploratory
• What Is an Essay
• Length of an Essay
• Generate Ideas
• Types of Essays
• Structuring an Essay
• Outline For Essay
• Essay Introduction
• Thesis Statement
• Body of an Essay
• Writing a Conclusion
• Essay Writing Tips
• Drafting an Essay
• Revision Process
• Fix a Broken Essay
• Format of an Essay
• Essay Examples
• Essay Checklist
• Essay Writing Service
• Pay for Research Paper
• Write My Research Paper
• Write My Essay
• Custom Essay Writing Service
• Admission Essay Writing Service
• Pay for Essay
• Academic Ghostwriting
• Write My Book Report
• Case Study Writing Service
• Dissertation Writing Service
• Coursework Writing Service
• Lab Report Writing Service
• Do My Assignment
• Buy College Papers
• Capstone Project Writing Service
• Buy Research Paper
• Custom Essays for Sale

Can’t find a perfect paper?

• Free Essay Samples

Essays on Hope

Writing a hope essay will remind you that any ordeal is easier to bear if you believe in future relief, in other words, if there is hope. We start each day with hope, without even realizing it. Hope motivates us to live. We hope for something better even when nothing is certain, when there are difficulties ahead, because hope is essentially the expectation that all bad things will be overcome – many hope essay samples mention this point. We all hope that tomorrow will be better than yesterday. Hope essays emphasize that people cannot live without hope, so we must try not to despair even in the most difficult situations. Romans had a saying: dum spiro spero, which means “while I breathe, I hope” – it’s a great motto to live by. Check out samples of essays on hope below for ideas to include in your essay.

Having none or fewer symptoms and being back to how your life was before without the illness is clinical recovery. Personal healing is a unique, deeply personal process of transforming one’s values, attitudes, skills, goals, and roles to better ones. Individual recovery is living a contributing, satisfying, and hopeful life...

Spirituality is critical in the delivery of care since it affects the decisions made and patient’s perception on the care plan.  Spiritual evaluation is the procedure of determining patient’s spiritual needs concerning health. The process assists caregivers to understand patients’ faith, needs, values and biases as linked to health care....

Words: 1163

The art of embracing an optimistic mindset regardless of the circumstances at hand describes extensively the virtue of hope (MacInnis a person who will give them a reason to smile trough the ugly phases of the life that they face; and actualize the significance of hope in them....

Words: 1739

Found a perfect essay sample but want a unique one?

Request writing help from expert writer in you feed!

The American dream, a long-standing vision, reflects the hope that through hard work and commitment, one will achieve political strength, economic prosperity, and endless love. During the Roaring Twenties, people put up masks to hide who they really were. Fitzgerald conveys in Great Gatsby that the American dream is a...

The first clue to the plot of a story is continually the title. I have read a great number of books the place the author had to take the reader deep into twenty pages of reading to realize what the e book was about. Tricia Downing on the other hand...

Related topic to Hope

You might also like.

Reflections: LIVING IN HOPE

 december 2006.

The three virtues that Paul sets forth as being of greatest importance in the believer’s life are faith, hope, and love (1 Corinthians 13:13). Although in our day faith and love are spoken of far more often than hope, it remains true that hope plays a vital role in faithfully following Jesus Christ.

The importance of hope is highlighted by C.S. Lewis in his book,  Mere Christianity , when he says—

Hope is one of the Theological virtues. This means that a continual looking forward to the eternal world is not (as some modern people think) a form of escapism or wishful thinking, but one of the things a Christian is meant to do. It does not mean that we are to leave the present world as it is. If you read history you will find that the Christians who did most for the present world were just those who thought most of the next. The Apostles themselves, who set on foot the conversion of theRoman Empire, the great men who built up the Middle Ages, the English Evangelicals who abolished the Slave Trade, all left their mark on Earth, precisely because their minds were occupied with Heaven. It is since Christians have largely ceased to think of the other world that they have become so ineffective in this. Aim at Heaven and you will get earth “thrown in”: aim at earth and you will get neither. It seems a strange rule, but something like it can be seen at work in other matters. Health is a great blessing, but the moment you make health one of your main, direct objects you start becoming a crank and imagining there is something wrong with you. You are only likely to get health provided you want other things more—food, games, work, fun, open air. In the same way, we shall never save civilization as long as civilization is our main object. We must learn to want something else even more.

Most of us find it very difficult to want “Heaven” at all—except in so far as “Heaven” means meeting again our friends who have died. One reason for this difficulty is that we have not been trained: our whole education tends to fix our minds on this world. Another reason is that when the real want for Heaven is present in us, we do not recognize it. Most people, if they had really learned to look into their own hearts, would know that they do want, and want acutely, something that cannot be had in this world. There are all sorts of things in this world that offer to give it to you, but they never quite keep their promise. 1

Sadly, many of us are so tethered to this world and the things it offers that we scarcely take thought of the world to come. Yet it is precisely by reflecting often on the joys, beauties, and satisfactions of eternal life in the world to come that we find a hope that empowers us to live fully for Christ today.

If then you have been raised with Christ, seek the things that are above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God. Set your minds on things that are above, not on things that are on earth. For you have died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God. When Christ who is your life appears, then you also will appear with him in glory. COLOSSIANS 3:1-4 (ESV)

1  C.S. Lewis,  Mere Christianity  (San Francisco: HarperSanFrancisco, Harper edition, 2001), pp. 134-135.

Recent Podcasts

A Biography of Mere Christianity

C.S. Lewis’s book Mere Christianity has a claim... Read More

• The Side B Stories – Dan Mizell’s Story by Jana Harmon, Daniel Mizell on August 2, 2024
• Ralph Waldo Emerson’s Philosophy and Influence by David George Moore on July 26, 2024

Recent Publications

What Scientific Proof Do We Have That There Is a God?

What if we only need pointers that suggest... Read More

• Hasn’t Science Proven That Belief in God Is an Outdated Superstition? by Sharon Dirckx on July 1, 2024
• Has the Bible Been Corrupted as Some Muslims Claim? by Andy Bannister on June 1, 2024

The Adventure of Joining God in His Work Live Online Small Group 7:00 PM CT

Explore our study courses this summer.

• Reflections
• Reflections 2006
• Must Reads: Life and Writings of C.S. Lewis

C.S. Lewis Institute

Team Members

C.S. Lewis Institute, In the legacy of C. S. Lewis, we develop wholehearted disciples of Jesus Christ who will articulate, defend, share, and live their faith in personal and public life.

Contact Event Manager

Print your tickets.

August 10, 2024

Starts 4:25 pm

Paragraph on Hope

Students are often asked to write a paragraph on Hope in their schools. And if you’re also looking for the same, we have created 100-word, 200-word, and 250-word paragraphs on the topic.

Let’s take a look…

Paragraph on Hope in 100 Words

Hope is like a tiny light inside your heart that never goes out. It’s what keeps you going even when things are tough. It’s the belief that good things will come, even if they’re not here yet. It’s like waiting for a beautiful sunrise after a dark night. It’s the feeling that the rain will stop, and a rainbow will appear. Hope is like a magic feather that makes you believe you can fly. It pushes you to try harder, dream bigger, and never give up. It’s a gift that everyone has inside, making our world brighter and happier.

Paragraph on Hope in 200 Words

Hope is like a tiny light that shines in our heart, even when it’s dark around us. It is the feeling we get when we want something good to happen and think that it can happen. Let’s imagine that you have a big test coming up. You study hard and feel that you can do well. That feeling is hope. Maybe your favorite team is playing and you wish that they win. That wish is hope too. Hope can also be a friend who whispers to you, “Don’t worry, it will be okay” when you are scared or sad. Even when things are tough, hope helps us to keep trying and not give up. It’s like the sun rising each day, reminding us that a new day brings new chances to try again. So, always keep hope in your heart, because it’s a powerful thing to have. It can make the impossible seem possible. It helps us to dream big and reach for the stars. Even if we fall, hope is there to pick us up and say, “Let’s try again!” So remember, no matter what happens, never let go of hope.

Also check:

Paragraph on Hope in 250 Words

Hope is like a bright and shining light that guides us on our path, even in the darkest times. It is a feeling that things will get better, no matter how tough they seem right now. It is the belief that the future holds something better, something good. It is the spark that lights up our hearts when we feel lost or when we are feeling down. When we are hopeful, we are full of positive energy and this energy helps us to keep moving forward, to keep trying, to never give up. It’s like a roadmap that leads us to our dreams. Hope makes us strong, it motivates us to reach our goals, and it gives us the courage to face challenges. It helps us to see the light at the end of the tunnel, to believe in the possibility of success, even when we face difficulties. Hope is a vital part of life. It’s like a friend who never leaves our side, always inspiring us, always encouraging us to believe in ourselves and our dreams. So, we should always keep hope in our hearts, because it is the fuel that drives us to strive for a better tomorrow. It is the bedrock of our aspirations, the beacon that guides us through life’s storms. It is the rainbow that appears after the rain, the sunrise that follows the darkest night. Hope is not just a feeling, it is a way of life.

Explore other popular paragraph topics:

Apart from these, you can look at all the essays by  clicking here .

Happy studying!

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Home — Essay Samples — Life — Hope — The Meaning of Hope and Its Role in Our Life

The Meaning of Hope and Its Role in Our Life

• Categories: Hope

About this sample

Words: 499 |

Published: Dec 3, 2020

Words: 499 | Page: 1 | 3 min read

Cite this Essay

Let us write you an essay from scratch

• 450+ experts on 30 subjects ready to help
• Custom essay delivered in as few as 3 hours

Get high-quality help

Prof Ernest (PhD)

Verified writer

• Expert in: Life

+ 120 experts online

By clicking “Check Writers’ Offers”, you agree to our terms of service and privacy policy . We’ll occasionally send you promo and account related email

No need to pay just yet!

Related Essays

3 pages / 1231 words

2 pages / 734 words

2 pages / 1017 words

3 pages / 1583 words

Remember! This is just a sample.

You can get your custom paper by one of our expert writers.

121 writers online

Still can’t find what you need?

Browse our vast selection of original essay samples, each expertly formatted and styled

Related Essays on Hope

Hope is a powerful and complex emotion that plays a significant role in our lives. It is the belief that things can change for the better, that there is a possibility for improvement and progress despite the challenges and [...]

Helen Keller is a name synonymous with courage, perseverance, and extraordinary human spirit. Born in 1880 in Tuscumbia, Alabama, Helen Keller faced an existential challenge at the age of 19 months when she was rendered both [...]

The Challenger disaster is an event that will forever be remembered as a tragic moment in American history. It occurred on January 28, 1986, when the Space Shuttle Challenger exploded just 73 seconds after liftoff, resulting in [...]

Within the depths of every human heart lies the ember of hope and the spark of dreams. These intangible yet powerful forces shape the course of our lives, giving us purpose and direction. In this essay, we delve into the [...]

The theological virtue of hope which is a godly gift bestowed by God through which one trusts God will grant eternal life and the means of obtaining it providing one cooperates. Hope is composed of desire and expectation [...]

The US sees itself as a unique country and as “a city upon a hill”, which means the U.S sees itself as a beacon of hope because they accept everyone which is in a way unique compared to other countries. The U.S was at one point [...]

Related Topics

By clicking “Send”, you agree to our Terms of service and Privacy statement . We will occasionally send you account related emails.

Where do you want us to send this sample?

By clicking “Continue”, you agree to our terms of service and privacy policy.

Be careful. This essay is not unique

This essay was donated by a student and is likely to have been used and submitted before

Download this Sample

Free samples may contain mistakes and not unique parts

Sorry, we could not paraphrase this essay. Our professional writers can rewrite it and get you a unique paper.

Please check your inbox.

We can write you a custom essay that will follow your exact instructions and meet the deadlines. Let's fix your grades together!

Get Your Personalized Essay in 3 Hours or Less!

We use cookies to personalyze your web-site experience. By continuing we’ll assume you board with our cookie policy .

• Instructions Followed To The Letter
• Deadlines Met At Every Stage
• Unique And Plagiarism Free

Most people in the world have no experience of lasting joy in their lives. We’re on a mission to change that. All of our resources exist to guide you toward everlasting joy in Jesus Christ.

• Audio (MP3)

What Is Hope?

John Piper Twitter @JohnPiper

Don’t devour one another, god decides the future, the emotional roller coaster of bible reading, god rules babylon, how does love fulfill the law, seemingly insignificant providence.

• Scripture: Hebrews 6:1–12    Topic: Hope

When I came to Bethlehem back in the middle of 1980, the signs were repainted to include the name of the new pastor. Rollin asked me what I would like to see painted on the back side of the north sign that faces the parking lot. I said I would like to see the words from Psalm 42:5 — Hope in God!

That’s the message I want all of us to have in mind every week as we leave Bethlehem and enter another week of work. The whole verse says,

Why are you cast down, O my soul,    and why are you disquieted within me?

Hope in God; for I shall again praise him,    my help and my God.

A Sermon to Preach to Yourself: Hope in God!

Richard Sibbes, one of the great old Puritan preachers of Cambridge who died in 1635, wrote a whole book (175 pages) on Psalm 42:5. He was called “the sweet dropper” because of how much confidence and joy his sermons caused. He called his book The Soul’s Conflict with Itself , because in Psalm 42:5 that is exactly what you have, the soul arguing with itself, preaching to itself. “Why are you cast down, O my soul, and why are you disquieted within me? Hope in God!”

Hoping in God does not come naturally for sinners like us. We must preach it to ourselves, and preach diligently and forcefully, or we will give way to a downcast and disquieted spirit. This is evidently not well known among all the saints — this preaching to yourself — because in Cameroon I recommended it to several as a way of fighting off discouragement, and it seemed quite a new thought to them. In fact, three months after Noël and I returned I received a letter from one of the young women who struggled most it seemed. She said,

“Biblical hope not only desires something good for the future — it expects it to happen.”

While I was on holiday at the end of May I had time to write myself four sermons on different topics, and it’s been quite helpful to refer back to them from time to time, though sometimes when I’m depressed reasoning doesn’t seem to get me very far and it’s easier just to try to hold on to certain verses or truths.

Indeed! The best sermon you preach yourself this week may be only three words long: Hope in God!

I love the way the psalmists wrestle and fight and struggle to maintain their hope in God. This is a normal Christian experience while we are still just saved sinners. And we better own up to it, or else we may grow sluggish and negligent in our fight for hope. And that is very dangerous, as our text plainly teaches.

The Emotional Reservoir of Hope

A young woman from California asked me for an interview last week because she was doing a psychology project on “forgiveness,” and she needed to record some pastoral interviews. One of the questions she asked was something like this: “What are some of your feelings when you forgive someone?” One of my first thoughts was that I have to have the feeling of hope in order to forgive instead of retaliating. In my life — and I think it is the intended biblical pattern — hope is like a reservoir of emotional strength.

If I am put down, I look to the emotional reservoir of hope for the strength to return good for evil. Without hope, I have no power to absorb the wrong and walk in love, and I sink into self-pity or self-justification.

If I experience a setback in my planning — I get sick, or things don’t go the way I’d hoped in the board meeting, for example — I look to the emotional reservoir of hope for the strength to keep going and not give up.

If I face a temptation to be dishonest, to steal, to lie, or to lust, I look to the emotional reservoir of hope for the strength to hold fast to the way of righteousness, and deny myself some brief, unsatisfying pleasure.

That is the way it works for me. That is the way I fight for holiness in the Christian life. And I believe this is the biblical way to make our calling and election sure.

My prayer is that as we focus our attention on our Christian hope over the next sixteen weeks , God will fill your reservoir to overflowing, and that deep down in the Hoover Dam of your soul the great hydro-electric generators of joy and love and boldness and endurance will churn with new power for the glory of God.

We begin today with the most basic question of all: What is hope? Specifically, we want to know not just Webster’s definition, but the biblical definition. We have to know what we are talking about before we can get very far in our grasp of the great truths about biblical hope.

Three Ways We Use the Word “Hope”

We use the word hope in at least three different ways.

Hope is the desire for something good in the future. The children might say, “I hope daddy gets home early tonight so we can play kickball after supper before his meeting.” In other words, they desire for him to get home early so that they can experience this good thing, namely, playing together after supper.

Hope is the good thing in the future that we are desiring. We say, “Our hope is that Jim will arrive safely.” In other words, Jim’s safe arrival is the object of our hope.

Hope is the reason why our hope might indeed come to pass. We say, “A good tailwind is our only hope of arriving on time.” In other words, the tailwind is the reason we may, in fact, achieve the future good that we desire. It’s our only hope.

So hope is used in three senses:

• A desire for something good in the future,
• the thing in the future that we desire, and
• the basis or reason for thinking that our desire may indeed be fulfilled.

The Distinctive Biblical Meaning of Hope

All three of these uses are found in the Bible. But the most important feature of biblical hope is not present in any of these ordinary uses of the word hope. In fact, the distinctive meaning of hope in Scripture is almost the opposite of our ordinary usage.

I don’t mean that in Scripture hope is a desire for something bad (instead of something good). And I don’t mean that in Scripture hope is rejection of good (instead of desire for it). It is not the opposite in those senses. It is the opposite in this sense: ordinarily, when we use the word hope, we express uncertainty rather than certainty.

“I hope daddy gets home early,” means, “I don’t have any certainty that daddy will get home on time, I only desire that he does.”

“Our hope is that Jim will arrive safely,” means, “We don’t know if he will or not, but that is our desire.”

“A good tailwind is our only hope of arriving on time,” means, “A good tailwind would bring us to our desired goal, but we can’t be sure we will get one.”

Ordinarily, when we express hope, we are expressing uncertainty. But this is not the distinctive biblical meaning of hope. And the main thing I want to do this morning is show you from Scripture that biblical hope is not just a desire for something good in the future, but rather, biblical hope is a confident expectation and desire for something good in the future.

Biblical hope not only desires something good for the future — it expects it to happen. And it not only expects it to happen — it is confident that it will happen. There is a moral certainty that the good we expect and desire will be done.

Moral Certainty

Before we look at the Scripture, let me say what I mean by “moral certainty.”

Not Mathematical or Logical Certainty

It is different from, say mathematical or merely logical certainty. Mathematical or strictly logical certainty results from the necessity of non-moral laws. If we have two apples and add two more, we may be “mathematically” certain that we now have four apples. That is mathematical certainty. If all men are mortal and if Plato was a man, then we may be “logically” certain that Plato was mortal. That is logical certainty.

That kind of thinking is important. In fact, it is indispensable in biblical studies as well as all other areas of life. But most of our experience is not like that. There is a kind of legitimate certainty and confidence that does not come from mathematical calculations or merely logical laws. I call it “moral certainty.”

I call it moral because it is rooted in the commitment of the will of persons. And the will is the seat of morality. That is, we can only speak of moral right and wrong in relationship to acts of will. So whatever has to do with the will is an issue of morality. And moral certainty is a certainty that is based on acts of will.

Confident Expectation

Let me illustrate. I have a strong moral certainty that Noël and I are going to stay married to each other as long as we live. This is based not on mathematical laws or merely logical syllogisms. It is based on the character of our wills and the promises of God — which are just expressions of the character of his will. We have almost twenty years of evidence about the nature and commitments of our wills and the graciousness of God’s will.

“Perseverance in godliness is the proof of the genuineness of a person’s salvation.”

When we speak of our future, we do not speak in the ordinary terms of hope. We don’t say, for example, “We hope that we don’t get divorced.” We speak in terms of confidence and certainty, because the character of a God-centered will is like iron.

But of course, we could be wrong, couldn’t we? Yes, and all the communists in the world may convert to Christianity this afternoon. And it may be that not a single deceptive word will creep into any advertisement for the next five years. And every pornographic publisher may go out of business by year’s end because men will gain mastery over their lustful desires.

All these things are mathematically and logically possible. There is no mathematical or logical certainty that they won’t happen. Why, then, do we have such strong confidence that they will not happen? Because we know something about the human will. There is a kind of certainty that comes from knowing the character of a man or of a group of men or a wife. It is not infallible, but it is secure and confident. It lets you sleep at night. It carries you over rough times. Eventually, it can see you right through the grave.

Biblical hope is not a mere desire for something good to happen. It is a confident expectation and desire for something good in the future. Biblical hope has moral certainty in it. When the word says, “Hope in God!” it does not mean, “Cross your fingers.” It means, to use the words of William Carey, “Expect great things from God.”

Scriptural Evidence

Now let us go to the Scripture to see where I get this understanding of biblical hope. We will begin at Hebrews 6:9–12. After warning his readers that it is possible for people who have had remarkable religious experiences to commit apostasy and go beyond the point of no return, he says,

Though we speak thus, yet in your case, beloved, we feel sure of better things that belong to salvation. For God is not so unjust as to overlook your work and the love which you showed for his sake in serving the saints, as you still do. And we desire each one of you to show the same earnestness in realizing the full assurance of hope until the end, so that you may not be sluggish, but imitators of those who through faith and patience inherit the promises.

The Writer’s Confidence in His Readers

The reason the writer is so sure that his readers will not be among the apostates is that they have not only been loving servants for God’s sake in the past but are still serving. You see that emphasis on perseverance, don’t you, at the end of verse 10? You showed love in serving the saints in the past, and you still do . Their religious experience was not a temporary decision at camp or at a Keith Green concert or Billy Graham crusade. It was continuing. Perseverance in godliness is the proof of the genuineness of a person’s salvation. That’s why the writer feels so sure of the people: they had served the saints, and they still do.

The Writer’s Admonition to His Readers

Now comes the admonition in verses 11 and 12 to press on and not become sluggish. But now the battle is described in terms of hope, not just in terms of love and service:

And we desire each one of you to show the same earnestness in realizing the full assurance of hope until the end.

In other words, with all the zeal of the past that enabled you to work and love in the name of Christ — with all that zeal, keep on pursuing the full assurance of hope to the end. There is no fight, no quest, no challenge, no war more urgent than this. Keep your hope hot!

“The Full Assurance of Hope”

Now, what does “the full assurance of hope” mean in verse 11? It means hope which is fully assured. Hope which is confident. Hope that has moral certainty in it. It is not finger-crossing hope. It is not the lip-biting gaze as you watch the placekicker go for a field goal in the last ten seconds when you are down by two points.

In fact, verse 12 implies that hope and faith are almost synonymous. Notice the connection: verse 11 says, go hard after full assurance of hope; verse 12 says the result of that pursuit of hope is that you will be like those who through faith and patience inherit the promises. Pursue hope so that you can be like men of faith.

The Connection Between Faith and Hope

Let’s pursue this connection between hope and faith a little further. The term “full assurance” (used here in verse 11, plerophorian ) is found one other place in Hebrews, namely, 10:22. However, there it is “full assurance of faith” instead of “full assurance of hope.” It says, “Let us draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith.” Then in the next verse, it says, “Let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering, for he who promised is faithful.” Notice, hope is something that should not waver, because it is rooted in the faithfulness of God. There should be moral certainty in it because the will and purpose of God are like iron, not chalk.

But what about the relationship between full assurance of faith and full assurance of hope? Is there a difference? I would suggest that faith is the larger idea and hope is a necessary part of biblical faith. Hope is that part of faith that focuses on the future. In biblical terms, when faith is directed to the future, you can call it hope. But faith can focus on the past and the present too, so faith is the larger term. You can see this in Hebrews 11:1. This is the closest thing we have to a definition of faith in all the New Testament, I think.

Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen.

Here’s how I would paraphrase this verse. Wherever there is full assurance of hope, there is faith. Faith is the full assurance of hope. Biblical faith is a confident expectation and desire for good things in the future.

But faith is more than that. It is also the “conviction of things not seen,” and some of these are not future. For example, verse 3: “By faith we understand that the world was created by the word of God.” Faith can look back (to creation) as well as forward. So faith is the larger idea. It includes hope, but is more than hope. You might put it this way: faith is our confidence in the word of God, and whenever that word has reference to the future, you can call our confidence in it hope. Hope is faith in the future tense.

Why This Relationship Is Important

There are two reasons this is important to see.

One is that it helps us grasp the true nature of biblical hope. Most of us know that biblical faith is a strong confidence. Doubt is the enemy of biblical faith. But if hope is faith in the future tense, then we can see more clearly that hope, too, is a strong confidence and not just wishful thinking.

The other reason it is important to see this relationship between faith and hope is that it shows how indispensable hope is. We all know that we are saved by grace through faith. Faith is necessary for our salvation. But we don’t as often speak of hope in those terms. But we should. Hope is an essential part of faith. Take away hope and the definition of faith in Hebrews 11:1 is destroyed. We are not merely saved by grace through faith. We are saved by grace through hope.

Paul Shares This View of Hope

Now briefly let’s notice how Paul shares this same view of hope in Romans 4:18. He describes Abraham as the great example of faith, and in particular, of justification by faith. In Romans 4:22 he says, “This is why Abraham’s faith ‘reckoned to him as righteousness.’” And the faith Paul is speaking about is the faith that God would fulfill his promise by giving him a son, Isaac.

So the faith which justified Abraham was faith in the future work of God. Verse 21 makes this crystal clear: he was “fully convinced that God was able to do what he had promised.” In other words he had what Hebrews 6:11 called the “full assurance of hope.”

Verse 18 describes how faith and hope worked together: “In hope he believed against hope, that he should become the father of many nations.”

“Wherever there is full assurance of hope, there is faith. Faith is the full assurance of hope.”

“Against hope” means that from the ordinary human standpoint there was no hope: Abraham was too old to have a child, and his wife was barren. But biblical hope is never based on what is possible with man. Biblical hope looks away from man to the promise of God. And when it does, it becomes the “full assurance of hope” — the expectation of great things from God.

It is not easy to describe exactly what Paul means in verse 18 when he says, “In hope Abraham believed . . . that he should become the father of many nations.” But from the whole context I think it is fair to say that Abraham’s faith was his strong confidence in the reliability of God’s word, and Abraham’s hope was his strong confidence in the fulfillment of God’s promise.

In other words, whenever faith in God looks to the future, it can be called hope. And whenever hope rests on the word of God, it can be called faith.

A Confident Expectation

Therefore I pray that the main point of the message is plain from Hebrews and from Romans, namely, that the biblical concept of hope, which we are going to be examining for the next 16 weeks, is not the ordinary concept we use in everyday speech. It does not imply uncertainty or lack of assurance. Instead, biblical hope is a confident expectation and desire for something good in the future. There is moral certainty in it.

I count it a great privilege and delight to spend the next sixteen weeks with you unfolding what it means to say that our God is a “God of hope”; (Romans 15:13) and that the central exhortation of our church is very simply and very profoundly, Hope in God!

New Resources in Your Inbox

A digest from Desiring God

Presentations made painless

• Get Premium

119 Hope Essay Topic Ideas & Examples

Inside This Article

Hope is a powerful force that can drive us to push through challenges, overcome obstacles, and keep moving forward towards our goals and dreams. It is the belief that better days are ahead and that we have the strength and resilience to overcome any adversity we may face. Hope can be found in the smallest of moments, and it can be a beacon of light in our darkest hours.

If you are looking for inspiration for an essay on hope, here are 119 topic ideas and examples to get you started:

• The power of hope in overcoming adversity
• Finding hope in the midst of despair
• The role of hope in mental health and wellbeing
• How hope can shape our attitudes and behaviors
• The connection between hope and resilience
• Hope as a driving force for social change
• Cultivating hope in times of uncertainty
• The impact of hope on our physical health
• How hope can help us navigate grief and loss
• Hope as a source of motivation and inspiration
• The role of hope in achieving our goals and dreams
• Finding hope in the face of failure and setbacks
• The relationship between hope and optimism
• Hope as a tool for coping with stress and anxiety
• The importance of hope in building meaningful relationships
• How hope can help us find meaning and purpose in life
• The connection between hope and happiness
• Hope as a source of inner strength and courage
• The role of hope in shaping our beliefs and values
• Cultivating hope through gratitude and mindfulness practices
• The impact of hope on our decision-making process
• Finding hope in times of conflict and division
• The connection between hope and creativity
• How hope can foster a sense of community and belonging
• Hope as a source of comfort and solace in difficult times
• The role of hope in healing and recovery
• Finding hope in the beauty of nature
• The connection between hope and faith
• Hope as a source of inspiration for artists and writers
• Cultivating hope through acts of kindness and compassion
• The impact of hope on our ability to forgive and let go
• Finding hope in the power of human connection
• The role of hope in building a more just and equitable society
• How hope can help us overcome fear and uncertainty
• The connection between hope and self-compassion
• Hope as a source of strength for survivors of trauma and abuse
• Cultivating hope through self-care and self-love practices
• The impact of hope on our ability to adapt and thrive in times of change
• Finding hope in the beauty of art and music
• The role of hope in shaping our perceptions of the world
• How hope can help us navigate the complexities of modern life
• The connection between hope and social justice
• Hope as a source of resilience for marginalized communities
• Cultivating hope through acts of activism and advocacy
• The impact of hope on our ability to create positive change in the world
• Finding hope in the power of storytelling and narrative
• The role of hope in shaping our cultural identity
• How hope can help us bridge our differences and find common ground
• The connection between hope and environmental sustainability
• Hope as a source of inspiration for innovation and progress
• Cultivating hope through education and lifelong learning
• The impact of hope on our ability to build a better future for the next generation
• Finding hope in the resilience of the human spirit
• The role of hope in shaping our understanding of history and heritage
• How hope can help us confront our past and envision a brighter tomorrow
• The connection between hope and political activism
• Hope as a source of strength for those fighting for social change
• Cultivating hope through community organizing and grassroots movements
• The impact of hope on our ability to create a more just and equitable society
• Finding hope in the power of collective action and solidarity
• The role of hope in shaping our vision for a better world
• How hope can help us overcome the challenges of our time
• The connection between hope and intergenerational justice
• Hope as a source of inspiration for building a more sustainable future
• Cultivating hope through sustainable living practices
• The impact of hope on our ability to address global challenges
• Finding hope in the resilience of nature and the earth
• The role of hope in shaping our relationship with the natural world
• How hope can help us confront the climate crisis and build a more sustainable future
• The connection between hope and environmental activism
• Hope as a source of strength for those fighting for environmental justice
• Cultivating

Want to research companies faster?

Instantly access industry insights

Let PitchGrade do this for me

Leverage powerful AI research capabilities

We will create your text and designs for you. Sit back and relax while we do the work.

Explore More Content

• Privacy Policy
• Terms of Service

© 2024 Pitchgrade

7 Reasons Why Finding Hope For The Future Is So Important

Disclosure: this page may contain affiliate links to select partners. We receive a commission should you choose to make a purchase after clicking on them. Read our affiliate disclosure.

What is hope?

Why is hope so important?

How can I find hope?

These are the questions we will attempt to answer in this article.

So let us begin.

Speak to an accredited and experienced therapist to help you find hope for the future if you’re struggling right now. You may want to try speaking to one via BetterHelp.com for quality care at its most convenient.

What Is Hope?

Of all the thoughts and notions a person can have, hope is probably closest to trust.

When you have hope, you are placing your trust in the potential for something positive to happen.

You are trusting that taking the right actions will make a positive outcome more likely than taking the wrong actions.

When you hope for a better future, you are placing trust in yourself to make good choices in life.

When you trust someone, you hope that they will act in a way that embodies that trust.

When you jump out of an airplane, you hope you land safely, and you trust in your parachute.

The very act of carrying on and living your life is, by itself, a display of hope. It is the trust you have that when you go to bed at night, you will wake up to a new day that is filled with possibility.

What Hope Is Not

Look in a dictionary and you’ll see definitions for hope that include words such as desire, anticipation, and expectation.

But these are not really what hope is about.

The problem with desire, anticipation, and expectation is that when a particular thing is not forthcoming, they can disappear, leaving a void into which negative thoughts and feelings enter.

Just think of a child opening his birthday presents. He desires, anticipates, and expects a particular thing – a toy or bike, for instance.

When this thing is not forthcoming, what does he do? He gets upset. He has a tantrum. He is not grateful for the presents he did get.

But hope is not tied to a particular outcome.

Hope does not depend on certainty. Hope is merely the belief that there is the potential for something good to happen.

That something good is not anything specific. It is merely the idea of a positive outcome.

As Desmond Tutu once said:

Hope is being able to see that there is light despite all of the darkness.

The light is not a particular thing. The light is just something good – the potential for something good.

Why Is Hope So Important?

Now that we know what hope is and what it is not, why does it matter so much?

What are the reasons to have hope in life?

1. Hope is a healer.

We all face difficult times and we all get hurt. It’s inevitable.

But hope helps us to see that there are many positive possibilities ahead of us.

Hope whispers, “Things will get better.”

Hope puts the hurt and pain into perspective and reminds us that things are forever changing.

When we are at our lowest point, it is hope that lifts our head and shows us a path back toward something good.

Remember, hope is akin to trust, and when your general feelings are negative, you must trust that they will pass.

2. Hope shows us how to act.

Though hope is not tied to a particular outcome, it can still be a guiding force in our lives.

When we have hope, we are more likely to see the opportunities that come our way.

When we have hope, we are more likely to choose a path that leads to something positive.

When we have hope, we are more likely to act in a way that promotes a peaceful and joyful life.

Hope is a bit like an unseen compass that points us in the direction of something beneficial to our future.

3. Hope is a motivator.

Hope is a source of energy. It helps us to see something better up ahead and to put one foot in front of the other to move forward.

When we feel hopeful for the future, we wake up in the morning ready to embrace the day.

We are more prepared to work hard, to strive, to be willing to tackle and overcome the obstacles that we face .

Hope keeps us going when we hit a brick wall. It reminds us of why we are pursuing this path and of the potential for something good to come of it.

Hope allows us to answer Y-E-S! when life asks whether we’ve got what it takes.

4. Hope encourages self-belief.

Hope not only helps you to believe that something better is coming, it gives you the belief that you are the person who can make that something better come true.

When all we do is desire something to happen, we do not empower ourselves to try to make it happen.

But when we hope for something better, we tell ourselves that we have the power within us to change our direction of travel.

William Faulkner summed this up nicely when he said:

You cannot swim for new horizons until you have courage to lose sight of the shore.

If all you do is wish for new horizons, you are unlikely to see them.

It is hope that gives us the self-belief (or courage as Faulkner put it) to step onto a boat, cast off from the shore, and set sail, even if we do not yet know our destination.

5. Hope combats negative thoughts.

It is difficult to have negative thoughts and be hopeful at the same time.

Hope allows us to see light at the end of the tunnel and this light acts as a challenge to any unwanted thoughts.

When you think, “I can’t do this,” hope reminds you how capable you are.

When you think, “this is a disaster,” hope reminds you that things will improve.

When you think, “I hate my life,” hope reminds you that the future is full of potential.

Whilst hope can’t eradicate all negative thoughts immediately, the more we can nurture a feeling of hope, the less those thoughts will pop into our heads.

6. Hope brings inner peace.

As with negative thoughts, hope can help ease negative feelings too.

Hope is the opposite of despair.

Whereas despair creates a breeding ground for self-loathing, inaction, and depression, hope allows joy, enthusiasm, and a quiet contentment to grow.

Even whilst a challenging situation remains, hope can transform our inner landscape into one that is less affected by the outside environment.

7. Hope is contagious.

People want to feel hopeful. They really do.

They want to believe – to trust – that the future is bright.

Which is why they are so willing and able to absorb the hope of others.

Hope spreads quickly. When the possibility of a better future is put forward, people are ready to listen and believe.

And so, the last reason why hope is important is because the more hope we have, the more hope we will inspire in others.

How To Find Hope For The Future

Now that we’ve hopefully convinced you of the importance of hope, let’s turn our attention to some of the ways you can find it.

1. Recognize your power.

Believe it or not, every action you take has an effect on things.

Every action pushes you toward a particular outcome.

This is your power.

It is up to you to use this power in a way that is beneficial to your life.

Learn to recognize cause and effect in your life and be aware of the decisions you are making.

2. Ask what positive actions you can take.

Once you understand the power you have in life, it’s time to ask how you might influence things in a positive way.

Look for opportunities to take an action which increases the likelihood of a positive outcome occurring.

Don’t expect or desire any particular outcome – remember that these things are not hope.

Just try to act based upon your values and you should head in the right direction.

3. Connect with people who have faced similar circumstances.

Whatever you are going through right now that has left you lacking in hope, know that plenty of other people have been there too.

Try to find and connect to these people and allow them to both support you and guide you.

This might mean following personal blogs, finding online forums, or going to meetings in real life.

The key is to find a community – even if that only involves sitting quietly and reading or listening to others.

It makes it easier to find hope again when you know that you’re not alone.

4. Lean on those closest to you.

You might be doing a good job of hiding how you feel from your family and friends.

Or it might be written all over your face, body language, and actions.

Either way, these are people who love you and care for you. They will want to help you rediscover hope.

They may not be able to offer you the knowledge or guidance that comes from the communities discussed above, but they can still give you lots of time and energy to help you through this period in your life.

This support network can help you with the practical things and the emotional healing, so as difficult as it might be to admit that you’re struggling, trust that they will be there for you.

5. Speak to a professional.

Both the communities from point #3 and your more personal support network from point #4 will probably advise you to get help from a mental health professional.

Listen to this advice.

A professional has the expertise and experience to help you tackle the very specific thoughts, feelings, and challenges in your life.

They will be able to provide you with specific tools that you can use to change how you think and find hope once more.

As much as we’d like to say this article is all you need, we know that it is only the starting point of your journey.

BetterHelp.com is a website where you can connect with a therapist via phone, video, or instant message.

While you may try to work through this yourself, it may be a bigger issue than self-help can address. And if it is affecting your mental well-being, relationships, or life in general, it is a significant thing that needs to be resolved.

Too many people try to muddle through and do their best to overcome issues that they never really get to grips with. If it’s at all possible in your circumstances, therapy is 100% the best way forward.

Here’s that link again if you’d like to learn more about the service BetterHelp.com provide and the process of getting started.

6. Work on your self-esteem and self-worth.

People often feel despondent and without hope when they look in the mirror and don’t truly like the person they see staring back at them.

Part of the process of bringing hope back into your life is growing to like who you are and seeing the value you have as a person.

Again, a professional will help with this, but here is an article that might help you in the meantime: To Grow Your Self-Esteem Over Time, Do These 10 Small Things Regularly

7. Don’t expect answers to all of the questions.

Remember that hope is a show of trust in the likelihood of a positive outcome.

But it can’t predict the future.

If you struggle to find hope because you don’t know how everything will turn out, or even the steps you’re required to take, don’t worry.

You can’t know the answers to all of the questions.

You just have to trust that things will happen and that something good will come of it.

Sometimes you’ll know what to do and other times you’ll just have a feeling that something is right.

Go with that feeling – it is your intuition, which is strongly linked to hope.

8. Be a source of hope for others.

When you don’t know where to find hope, look for it in those who need your help.

Even when you are struggling, you have the power to bring hope to other people by giving your time and energy to their needs.

This might mean helping out at a community organization or performing acts of kindness and generosity to friends, neighbors, or strangers.

You’ll find that being a source of hope for others becomes a source of hope for you.

Make this something you do even when you regain your hope.

9. Rejoice in the little things that make life worth living.

When hope is missing, life can seem drained of all its color and vibrancy.

But you can combat this feeling and find your hope once more by recognizing the little things and brief moments of calm in your life.

Showing gratitude for those positive things that already exist in your life makes it easier to trust in the potential for even better things ahead.

If you’re struggling to think of such little things, check out this post: The Simple Things In Life: A List Of 50 Little Pleasures

To sum things up…

Hope is not just important, it is one of the most essential things in life.

Hope keeps us going. It reminds us that bad times cannot last. It spurs us on to greater things.

If you have lost hope, the challenges you face may seem insurmountable. Which is why it’s vital that you try to find hope again – even if it’s just a tiny slither to begin with.

Speaking to a professional should definitely be your first step, and we hope that the other points above will help you on your journey too.

Hope is the thing with feathers that perches in the soul – and sings the tunes without the words – and never stops at all. – Emily Dickinson

It is a good idea to seek professional help from one of the therapists at BetterHelp.com as professional therapy can be highly effective in helping you to discover hope where now you see none.

You may also like:

• If You Have No Passion For Anything, Read This
• How To Trust Yourself: 20 No Nonsense Tips!
• 9 Things To Do When You Feel Defeated Or Discouraged
• 20 Healthy Coping Skills: Strategies To Help With Negative Emotions

You may also like...

19 signs a man is silently struggling and needs your support

20 signs you didn’t get the emotional support you deserved in childhood

How To Humbly Admit When You Don’t Know Something (6 Tips)

12 Good Things That Happen When You Are Able To Say “I Made A Mistake”

8 Tips To Help You Own Up To Your Mistakes

11 Reasons It’s Hard To Admit You’re Wrong, According To Psychology

How To Admit You Were Wrong: 12 Tips If You Find It Difficult

10 Ways To Accept Your Flaws And Embrace Your Imperfections

10 Ways To Overcome Your Fear Of Looking Stupid

About The Author

Steve Phillips-Waller is the founder and editor of A Conscious Rethink. He has written extensively on the topics of life, relationships, and mental health for more than 8 years.

187 Hope Essay Topics: Ideas for Definition Essays, Literature Papers & More

Hope is a topic that has been discussed throughout philosophy’s history and in all Western philosophical traditions. It plays a vital role in every aspect of human life, such as religion, politics, and relationships. Hope also enables people to handle events with a mindset encouraging them to look ahead enthusiastically and positively.

In this article, our expert team has collected creative and catchy hope titles for essays that will come in handy!

• 🔝 Top 10 Hope Essays Topics

✍️ Hope Essay Prompts

• 🔤 Definition Essay on Hope
• 🙏 Essay on Hope and Faith

📚 Hope Essay Topics for Papers on Literature

🕊️ more great titles about hope, 📝 essay on hope: outline, 🔗 references, 🔝 top 10 hope essay topics.

• The philosophy of hope.
• The impact of hope on society.
• Why is the concept of hope important?
• Hope from a psychological perspective.
• Why do hope and anxiety accompany each other?
• Hope in Kant’s studies.
• The cross as a symbol of hope.
• Hope: personal experience.
• How not to lose hope?
• Example of hope in literature.

Have you ever felt a lack of inspiration when writing a school or college essay about hope? Not this time! We have prepared creative essay prompts that will aid you in receiving the highest grades!

Is Hope a Blessing or a Curse: Essay Prompt

The Greeks considered hope the most harmful of all evils because it hindered people from accepting their fate. In addition, hope is concerned with what has not yet occurred. So, it is natural that the higher our hopes for the future, the greater our disappointment when they are unmet.

On the other hand, research finds that people are more likely to accomplish their goals when they have hope. In your essay, you can provide the advantages and disadvantages of having hope, analyze them, and come to a conclusion.

Prompt for Essay about Faith, Hope, and Love

Faith, hope, and love are central to Christianity. Some Christian churches consider them theological virtues , each reflecting principles that define humanity’s relationship with God. In your essay about faith, hope, and love, you can focus on the following aspects:

• The role of these 3 virtues in religion.
• Importance of faith, hope, and love in everyday life.
• The example of faith, hope, and love from your experience, a film, or a book.
• Key verses about these virtues in the Bible.

What Gives You Hope for the Future: Essay Prompt

Hope might be among the most challenging things to find in terrible circumstances, but one must cling to it when things get bad. Being hopeful means believing in a better tomorrow, even if today everything goes wrong.

If you need help determining what gives you hope for the future, consider these tips:

• Think about the ups and downs that you have experienced.
• Try to find things that make you happy and inspired.
• Create a list of items you are thankful for and explain why.
• Look for some stories of hopeful people or ask friends to share their experiences.

Why Is Hope Important: Essay Prompt

Hope is one of the most powerful emotions since it urges people to keep going regardless of what happens in their lives. It also provides motivation to pursue goals, no matter how difficult or unattainable they seem, and fosters a positive attitude toward daily issues.

To highlight the importance of hope, find the answers to the following questions:

• How does hope help people overcome difficulties?
• Why is hope one of the greatest motivators?
• What is the impact of hope on mental health?
• Why is hope a strength and protective factor?

🔤 Definition Essay on Hope: Topic Ideas

A definition essay aims to thoroughly explain a specific concept. If you’re looking for ideas for your definition essay on hope, here are some topics to consider:

• What is the definition of hope in psychology?
• The essence of hope in Christianity .
• Hope in Hinduism as a concept of desire and wish.
• The focus of hope on economic and social empowerment in culture.
• What does the term hope mean in Judaism ?
• Hope in literature as a motivating force for change in the plot.
• How can hope be defined in the healthcare industry?
• Hope as the perceived capability to derive pathways to desired goals.
• How did ancient people define hope?
• Barack Obama’s psychology of hope: definition and peculiarities.
• The emotional competency of hope in the modern world.
• How do different cultures define and value the concept of hope?
• The role of hope in art: from ancient to modern times.
• The interpretation and explanation of hope by different philosophical currents.
• How is the concept of hope reflected in the works of different eras and genres?
• The impact of AI technology on the perception and expression of hope.
• Hope in the educational process: features.
• How has the understanding of hope changed over history?
• The relationship between the concept of hope and a general sense of happiness.
• Hope in religious beliefs and its manifestations in believers’ behaviors.

🙏 Essay on Hope and Faith: Interesting Topics

Faith and hope are closely interrelated concepts. If you need to write an essay on hope and faith, check out our writing ideas:

• The link between faith and hope in psychiatry.
• Three Faiths: Buddhism, Shintoism, and Bahai Religion .
• How do faith and hope help people to deal with uncertainty?
• The influence of hope and faith on mental health.
• Hope and faith as a foundation for religious practice and rituals.
• Health Care Provider and Faith Diversity.
• What is the difference between faith and hope?
• The role of hope and faith in the healing process.
• Hope and faith as a source of moral values.
• Christian Faith and Psychology: Allies Model .
• How does faith nurture and sustain hope?
• The nature of faith and hope in different cultures .
• European and Greek Heritage and Health Beliefs .
• Hope and faith from a philosophical perspective.
• The influence of hope and faith on the decision-making process.
• How do religious communities promote hope and faith?
• Religious Beliefs and Political Decisions.
• Religious hope and faith in the context of a personal tragedy.
• Hope and faith: the role in driving social change.
• Social Influence and Its Effects on People’s Beliefs and Behavior.
• The role of hope and faith in overcoming depression and anxiety disorders.
• What do hope and faith have in common?
• Political Beliefs in Changing Leadership.
• The thin line between hope and faith in oncology.
• Religious hope and faith as a source of the meaning of life.
• How Beliefs Can Shape a Person’s Reality.
• Why is hope so important to our faith?
• The evolution of faith and hope in human life.

Bible Study Questions on Hope

• Why, according to the Bible , hope is not a fleeting feeling?
• What messages of hope are present in the Book of Hebrews?
• Marriage and the Family: The Biblical Ideal & Modern Practice .
• What does the Book of Romans say about hope?
• How does the Psalmist convey hope in the face of adversity and uncertainty?
• What role does hope play in the teachings of Proverbs?
• Similarities in Family Values: The Aeneid and the Bible.
• How does the Bible teach us to be confident in our hope?
• What is the connection between hope and repentance in the Book of Lamentations?
• Why does true hope come as a gift by trusting God ?
• Relation Between God, Jesus Christ, and the Holy Spirit .
• Which stories from the Bible can help us learn more about hope?
• How does the book of Psalms use poetic language to express feelings of hope?
• The Nature of God, Humanity, Jesus, and Salvation .
• What role does hope play in the teachings of Jesus?
• How does the concept of hope relate to the idea of forgiveness in the Bible?
• How does Noah’s story with the flood illustrate the notion of hope?
• Several Theological Perspectives in the Understanding of the Bible, Its Interpretation and Issues .
• What lessons about hope may be derived from the Israelites’ experiences in the desert?
• How does the Book of Revelation present a vision of ultimate hope?

Are you searching for hope essay titles in literature ? In the sections below, you’ll find topics about this theme in the poem “Hope” Is the Thing with Feathers and other literary works.

Hope Is the Thing with Feathers Essay: Topic Ideas

• “Hope” Is the Thing with Feathers as a hymn of praise to hope.
• The power of hope as a key idea in the poem.
• “Hope” Is the Thing with Feathers: critical features of the poetic tone.
• The metaphor of hope in Emily Dickinson’s poem .
• Hope as a feathered creature in the poem.
• The concept of hope in “Hope” Is the Thing with Feathers.
• Why does Dickinson represent hope in her poem as a living thing?
• The symbolism of feathers in the poem “Hope” Is the Thing with Feathers.
• The abstract form of hope by Dickinson: the use of imagery and figurative language .
• Soul as a hope’s home in”Hope” Is the Thing with Feathers.
• How does Dickinson describe the paradoxical nature of hope in her poem?
• The use of poetic devices in “Hope” Is the Thing with Feathers.
• The impact of Dickinson’s poem on readers’ perceptions of hope.
• Dickinson’s “Hope” Is the Thing with Feathers: comparison of hope and despair.
• The peculiarities of “Hope” Is the Thing with Feathers title.

Hope Theme in Literature: More Essay Titles

• The Diary of Anne Frank: how hope saved lives during the Holocaust.
• The theme of hope in Louis’s journey in Hillenbrand’s Unbroken .
• The power of hope in the face of difficulty in A Raisin in the Sun.
• How does the author convey the idea of hope in Jane Eyre?
• Orwell’s 1984: The theme of lost hope for the future.
• Disillusionment of hope in The Great Gatsby .
• “Hope” by Emily Bronte as a poetic interpretation of hope.
• The American Dream in the Play “Death of a Salesman.”
• The nature of hope in One Hundred Years of Solitude.
• Night by Elie Wiesel : the concept of hope as a lifeline.
• How is the theme of hope highlighted in Life of Pi?
• Hemingway’s works and their connection with hope in the face of adversity.
• To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee: the hope for justice and equality.
• The value of hope and humanity in All Quiet on the Western Front.
• Romeo and Juliet: hope’s vulnerability in a world of quarreling families.
• How does The Little Prince by Antoine de Saint-Exupéry reveal the various perspectives of hope?
• The impact of hope on humanity’s future.
• How does hope help people cope with mental and physical disorders?
• Personal Beliefs. Thought Control.
• Loss of hope: practical methods and strategies to stay motivated.
• The role of hope in students’ academic achievement .
• Hope as a source of energy and a positive mindset.
• The impact of hope on creativity in art and literature.
• Restoring Hope Counselling Home for Youth.
• How can hope assist in raising children?
• Hope as an instrument of adaptation to changes in modern society.
• Emotional regulation through hope: strategies and effectiveness.
• Supernaturalism: The Existence of God and the Meaning of a Human Life .
• How does hope aid in social progress and prosperity?
• The efficiency of hope in goal achievement.
• The Five Pillars of Islam and Its Major Teachings.
• How do people stay hopeful in the face of uncertainty?
• The influence of hope in business and entrepreneurship.
• Hope as a powerful motivator in conflict resolution.
• The relationship between hope and stress management.
• The Crucifixion of Jesus Christ .
• Hope and its influence on the development of emotional intelligence.
• How does hope affect the ethical issues of technological development ?
• The value of hope in the maintenance of positive family relations.
• The role of hope in sports achievements and overcoming difficulties.
• Positive Reinforcement Concepts Discussion.
• Hope as a factor in maintaining environmental awareness and responsibility.
• Hope and its impact on adaptation to technological innovations.
• Reason and Religious Belief. An Introduction to The Philosophy of Religion’ by M. Peterson.
• The influence of hope on the formation and maintenance of healthy habits.
• Hope as a source of recovery in medical practices.
• Positive Self-Talk and Its Impact on Athletes.
• The role of hope in the creation of a positive working environment.
• The influence of hope on the development of professional reputation and success .
• How do we use hope for financial stability?
• Argumentative Essay: I Have a Good Life .
• The relationship between hope and the ability to creatively solve problems.
• What role does hope play in the social integration of migrants and refugees?
• The use of hope as a driving force in the formation of psychological stability.
• Managing Self-Defeating Thoughts.
• How does hope drive effective leadership and teamwork?

Hopes and Dreams Essay: Topic Ideas

• The economy of dreams: hope in global capitalism and its critiques.
• How did COVID-19 impact Australians’ hopes and dreams?
• The impact of drug addiction on people’s ability to hope and dream.
• American Dream and its Drawbacks.
• Hopes and dreams: common and distinctive qualities.
• The contribution of hopes and dreams to a sense of purpose.
• Sociology of Religion: Purpose and Concept.
• The efficiency of music in conveying emotions related to hopes and dreams.
• How do different cultures perceive and prioritize hopes and dreams?
• I Have a Dream Speech by Martin Luther King.
• The role of hope and dream in classical literature.
• The psychological side of unfulfilled dreams and hopes.
• How do hopes and dreams change across various generations?
• The use of realism and idealism in pursuing hopes and dreams.
• How can hope and dreams help to overcome post-traumatic stress disorder?
• The opportunities and obstacles teenagers face in pursuing their dreams and hopes.
• History: In Search of the American Dream.
• Childhood dreams and hopes and the development of adult identity.
• How do social media shape individuals’ hopes and dreams?

Ideas for an Essay on Youth Is Hope

• The pressure of high hopes for young people in the 21st century.
• How do role models aid in instilling hope in young individuals?
• Youth Involvement in Political Processes.
• Young people’s political activism as a source of public hope.
• The youth as a driving force of any country or culture.
• Impact of Information Technology on Youth Development .
• The role of youth in breaking stereotypes and fostering hope.
• Youth and international relations: hope for peace in the world.
• The potential of young political leaders to justify the hopes of society.
• Educational Program for Young Nurses.
• Youth and gender equality: hope for a future without discrimination.
• The role of young educators in creating a hopeful future for the next generation.
• Youth as the backbone of society and hope for a better life.
• Young Adulthood and Millennial Leadership.
• How does technological progress inspire youth to be more hopeful?
• Environmental activism of young people: creating hope for a sustainable future.
• Youth as hope for creating solidarity and respect in society .
• Is it justified to place high hopes on the youth?
• Youth and inclusiveness: hope for the future of equal opportunities.

Wondering how to structure your essay about hope? Leave it to us! Here is a perfect outline of a hope essay for students with examples!

Hope Essay Introduction

The introduction gives your reader a clear picture of what your essay will address. It should include some background information on your problem and proposed solution.

Take these steps to create a perfect introduction:

• Start with an attention-grabbing hook .
• Provide some background information.
• Narrow the scope of your discussion.
• Identify your position.
• Outline the framework of your essay.

Thesis Statement about Hope

A thesis statement is a short sentence that introduces your paper’s argument to the reader. Here’s how to write it:

• Collect the evidence to back up your argument.
• Think of the significance of the facts you have found.
• Formulate your stance on the issue in one sentence.
• Make adjustments as needed.

The thesis statement is usually the last sentence of your introduction. Look at an example of how it might look:

Although it is impossible to stop yourself from hoping, it can become problematic when that hope turns into a delusion.

Essay about Hope: Body Paragraphs

The essay’s body is where you thoroughly explore your point of view. Each body paragraph should have one main idea or argument supported by examples and evidence. The structure of your body paragraph should look the following way:

• Topic sentence.
• Supporting evidence.
• The link to the next paragraph.

Check out an example of a body paragraph containing all these elements:

[Topic sentence] Hope is one of the most significant and strong feelings that a person can experience. [Supporting evidence] It propels us ahead in life, gives us hope for the future, and generally helps us feel better about ourselves and our lives. Furthermore, hope enables us to continue living despite the difficulties we face in life. [Transition] Yet, there can be too much of a good thing, as overreliance on hope can leave one disappointed and defeated.

Essays on Hope: Conclusion

A conclusion brings together the essential concepts covered in the essay’s body. It includes 4 main components:

• Rephrased thesis statement.
• Summary of key arguments.
• The broader significance of the topic
• Prediction, recommendations, or call to action.

Here’s how a rephrased thesis might look:

To sum up, it is acceptable to spend some time in hope but not to live in it. Instead, people must live in reality, which is the only way to achieve results.

We hope that our creative and catchy hope titles for essays have been inspirational for you! Besides, you can use our free online topic generator for more ideas!

• Hope | The Church of Jesis Christ
• Hope | Desiring God
• Hope: Why It Matters | Harvard Health Publishing
• How Hope Can Keep You Happier and Healthier | Greater Good Magazine
• What is Hope and Why Is It So Crucial to Our Faith? | Bible Study Tools
• Philosophy of Hope | Springer Link
• Six Top Tips for Writing a Great Essay | The University of Melbourne
• Essay Writing | Purdue Online Writing Lab

333 Football Research Topics & Essay Titles

169 the lottery essay topics & questions for analysis and argumentative papers.

• Table of Contents
• Random Entry
• Chronological
• Editorial Information
• About the SEP
• Editorial Board
• How to Cite the SEP
• Special Characters
• Advanced Tools
• Support the SEP
• PDFs for SEP Friends
• Make a Donation
• SEPIA for Libraries
• Entry Contents

Bibliography

Academic tools.

• Friends PDF Preview
• Author and Citation Info
• Back to Top

Discussions of hope can be found throughout the history of philosophy and across all Western philosophical traditions, even though philosophy has traditionally not paid the same attention to hope as it has to attitudes like belief and desire. However, even though hope has historically only rarely been discussed systematically—with important exceptions, such as Aquinas, Bloch and Marcel—almost all major philosophers acknowledge that hope plays an important role in regard to human motivation, religious belief or politics. Historically, discussions of the importance of hope were often embedded in particular philosophical projects. More recent discussions of hope provide independent accounts of its nature and its relation to other mental phenomena, such as desire, intention and optimism.

1. Introduction

2.1 ancient accounts of hope, 2.2 christian authors on hope, 2.3 hope in 17 th and 18 th century philosophy, 2.4 immanuel kant, 2.5 post-kantian philosophy and existentialism, 2.6 pragmatism, 3. the standard account and the rationality of hope, 4. analyses of hope in the psychological literature, 5. hope in political philosophy, other internet resources, related entries.

Compared with more widely discussed attitudes like belief and desire, the phenomenon of hope presents some unique challenges for both theories of the mind and theories of value. Hope is not only an attitude that has cognitive components—it is responsive to facts about the possibility and likelihood of future events. It also has a conative component—hopes are different from mere expectations insofar as they reflect and draw upon our desires. A classic analysis of hope—the so-called “standard account” (see section 3 )—takes hope to be a compound attitude, consisting of a desire for an outcome and a belief in that outcome’s possibility. But not all outcomes that we believe to be possible and that we desire are thereby objects of our hope. In order to hope one not only has to consider an outcome possible, one also has to affectively engage with this outcome in a distinctive way. This raises the question as to whether hope can be reduced to beliefs and desires.

Popular discourse often takes hope to be synonymous with optimism. But while optimism can be usefully analyzed as a desire for an outcome together with a belief that the outcome is more likely than not (or more likely than the evidence leads other people to believe), many philosophers hold that hope, properly understood, is independent of probability assessments (see section 3 ). One can hope for outcomes that one considers to be very unlikely and that one does not expect to happen, such as a miraculous cure of an illness. In such cases, optimism is not an appropriate response.

It is an open question whether the contribution of hope to human agency is to be identified with that of the underlying desires or whether hope makes an independent contribution to motivation or reasoning. If one assumes that hope cannot make any independent contribution to practical reasoning but still motivates, this raises the suspicion that it distorts rational agency. While such an assessment can be found across the history of philosophy, many past and contemporary philosophers provide analyses of hope that add further elements to the belief-desire analysis and use these elements to explain why acting on one’s hopes is (sometimes) rational.

2. The Philosophical History of Hope

Historically, evaluations of hope change together with the prevailing view of the relationship between human action and the future. As long as the human condition is seen as essentially unchangeable, hope is more often treated as arising from mere epistemic uncertainty and as having ambivalent effects on human happiness. In philosophical contexts where either the possibility of a future life beyond this world or the idea of human progress is emphasized, hope is more often seen as an appropriate and even virtuous attitude that enables humans to direct their agency towards these possibilities (see Miceli and Castelfranchi 2010).

Although there are few explicit and systematic treatments of hope ( elpis ) in ancient Greek philosophies, they nevertheless contain important approaches to the nature of hope and its role in the good life and practical deliberation (Gravlee 2020). Ambivalent evaluations of hope can be found in many texts. On the one hand, hope is often seen as an attitude of those who have insufficient knowledge or are easily swayed by wishful thinking. It thus has a negative reputation (Vogt 2017) as an attitude that (at least potentially) misleads actions and agents. Even Solon focuses on empty hopes (see Lewis 2006: 85; Caston and Kaster 2016). On the other hand, hope is praised as a response to despair, e.g., in the dialogues of Thucydides, who advances a nuanced view of the potential dangers and advantages of hope (Schlosser 2013). An ambivalent evaluation of hope is also reflected in Hesiod’s version of the tale of Pandora. When all the evils had escaped from Pandora’s jar, famously, only hope ( elpis ) remained (“Works and Days”, §90). This seems to suggest that hope can also sustain human agency in the face of widespread evil. It must be noted, however, that there are many competing interpretations of why elpis remained in the jar (Verdenius 1985): Was it to keep hope available for humans or, rather, to keep hope from humankind? Is hope consequently to be regarded as good (“a comfort to man in his misery and a stimulus rousing his activity”, Verdenius 1985: 66) or as evil (“idle hope in which the lazy man indulges when he should be working honestly for his living”, Verdenius 1985: 66)? These different interpretations of Pandora’s myth are taken up throughout the history of Philosophy (especially among existentialist authors, see section 2.5 ).

In Plato’s dialogues, we find negative as well as positive assessments of hope. In particular, Plato even argues that hope can be rational. In the Timaeus , Plato adopts a rather negative attitude towards hope by recounting a myth according to which the divine beings give us “those mindless advisers confidence and fear, (…) and gullible hope” ( Timaeus , 69b). In the Philebus , by contrast, he seems to also allow for a more favorable view of the role of hope in human life. The relevant discussion of hope takes place in the context of an argument about “false pleasures”. Against Protarch’s objection that only opinions can be true or false, but not pleasures, Socrates develops an analogy between opinion and pleasure ( Philebus , 36d). In this context, he describes “pleasures of anticipation”, that is, expectations of future pleasures, that are called hopes ( Philebus , 39e3). As Frede (1985) argues, in the case of such pleasures of anticipation what we enjoy at present is only a thought. As there can be a discrepancy between the thought that we enjoy and what is in fact going to happen, the pleasure can be true—in which case it seems appropriate to say that the corresponding hope can be rationally endorsed—or false (Frede 1985: 174f.). The Philebus also presents hope as essential to human agency: Plato seems to suggest that all our agential representations are concerned with the future, which connects them to hope (Vogt 2017). Plato’s positive view of hope can also be found in the Apology and the Phaedo , where he argues that hope for the afterlife is rational (Gravlee 2020).

Aristotle’s treatment of hope in the context of his discussion of the virtue of courage has received some attention (Gravlee 2000; Lear 2006), as well as the role of hope in his practical philosophy in general (Kontos 2021a). On the one hand, Aristotle describes the relationship between hope and courage as a contrast. He identifies two sources of hopefulness that are non-courageous: First, it is possible to be hopeful “at sea […] and in disease”, but this hope does not involve courage, insofar as, in such situations, there is neither “opportunity of showing prowess”, nor is death “noble” in these cases, according to Aristotle ( Nicomachean Ethics 3.6, 1115a35ff.). Second, one can be hopeful based on one’s experience of good fortune ( Nicomachean Ethics 3.8, 1117a10ff.). In this case, the belief in the probability of a good outcome is not well grounded, but founded on mere induction. Both kinds of hopefulness are non-courageous. On the other hand, there is also a connection between hope and courage via the concept of confidence (Gravlee 2000). For example, Aristotle says:

The coward, then, is a despairing sort of person; for he fears everything. The brave man, on the other hand, has the opposite disposition; for confidence is the mark of a hopeful disposition. ( Nicomachean Ethics 3.7, 1116a2)

Thus, even though not every hopeful person is courageous, every courageous person is hopeful. Hopefulness creates confidence, which, if derived from the right sources, can lead to the virtue of courage. Gravlee (2000: 471ff.) identifies two further considerations that are relevant for hope’s value in Aristotle’s thought. First, hope underlies deliberation, which is needed for any exercise of a virtuous disposition. Second, hopefulness is also presented as valuable in its connection with youth and the virtue of megalopsychia (high-mindedness): Hopefulness spurs us to the pursuit of the noble. Kontos (2021a, 2021b) focuses both on the phenomenology of hope in Aristotle’s thought, and the normative question of what the conditions are for “hoping-well”: He argues that hoping-well constitutes a correct engagement with moral luck, and it requires drawing on past experiences in a proper way as well as reliably perceiving the present reality.

Perhaps unsurprisingly, hope received a less favorable treatment by the Stoic philosophers. In particular, Seneca emphasizes hope’s relation to fear (an idea that is later taken up by Spinoza, see section 2.3 ):

[t]hey are bound up with one another, unconnected as they may seem. Widely different though they are, the two of them march in unison like a prisoner and the escort he is handcuffed to. Fear keeps pace with hope. Nor does their so moving together surprise me; both belong to a mind in suspense, to a mind in a state of anxiety through looking into the future. Both are mainly due to projecting our thoughts far ahead of us instead of adapting ourselves to the present. (Seneca, Letter 5.7–8; in: 1969: 38)

According to Seneca, we should avoid both fear and hope and instead focus on the present and cultivate tranquility of the soul.

Pre-Christian accounts see hope mostly as an attitude to reality that is based on insufficient insight into what is true or good. By contrast, Christian philosophers such as Augustine and Thomas Aquinas analyze hope as one of the most central virtues of a believer: Hope, precisely in virtue of its capacity to justify action in a way which is not bound to knowledge, is a part of rational faith.

Even in Saint Paul’s argument for the extension of the Christian community beyond the Jewish law, hope plays a central role. Paul states that we can only hope for what is uncertain (Romans 8:24; see also Augustine, City of God , book XIX, §IV, 1960: 139). Nevertheless, such hope can be the product of the experience of suffering, if this experience is seen through the lens of faith (Romans 5:3–5) and if the desire to be saved from this suffering is supported by confidence in not being disappointed. Instead of backward-looking law-conformity (associated by Paul with the Jewish faith), it is such forward-looking hope that characterizes the appropriate relation to God. As an illustration, Paul describes Abraham as “hoping against hope” (Romans 4:18), emphasizing the way in which hope goes beyond the evidence.

Augustine of Hippo discusses hope systematically in his Enchiridion on Faith, Hope and Love (c. 420). Hope is distinguished from faith—which is also based on incomplete evidence—by two features: First, hope is necessarily directed to future events, whereas faith can also relate to past events (such as Christ’s resurrection). Second, hope only relates to what is good for the hopeful person, whereas faith can also relate to what is bad (such as punishment for one’s sins). Finally, hope, faith and love are seen as interconnected. Only if one loves the future fulfillment of God’s will and thus hopes for it can one arrive at the correct form of faith ( Enchiridion , II.7). As love provides the normative outlook that underlies hope and faith (and thus, in some sense, the desire-component of hope), love is seen as a more central virtue than hope ( Enchiridion , XXX.114).

The hope for a life after death also plays an important role in Augustine’s political philosophy. In the City of God , Augustine distinguishes the actual earthly city from the heavenly city that only exists in the hope placed in God ( City of God , book XV, §XXI, 1966: 541). The latter provides a reference point for a Christian view of politics. Hope, however, not only provides for a perspective on politics which surpasses the narrow perspective of classical politics (Dodaro 2007), but an appropriate theorizing of hope also modifies the understanding of traditional political virtues, as it redirects their purpose from the earthly to the heavenly city. One example of such a modification concerns punishment: Through hope, a Christian ‘statesman’ will redirect punishment away from an exclusive concern with proportionality towards the potential reform of the criminal ( City of God , book V, §XXIV, 1963: 263).

In one of his letters to Macedonius, a public official, Augustine finally emphasizes that the hope for a future life underlies all true human happiness, both on the level of the individual and of the state (Letter 155, Political Writings , §4–8, pp. 91–94). Thus, hope is not just of concern for individual believers but also for political leaders that are concerned with collective happiness, as paying attention to hope allows them to pursue a political constitution that allows true virtue of citizens to emerge (see also Dodaro 2007).

While Augustine is more or less exclusively concerned with the significance of hope for our pursuit of a good Christian life, Thomas Aquinas’ Summa Theologiae contains a systematic discussion of (ordinary) hope as a passion (ST I-II, q. 40) and as a theological virtue (ST II-II, qq. 17–22). The former is directed to finite, earthly goods, whereas hope as a theological virtue is directed to ultimate happiness in the union with God. Even though the two kinds of hope are clearly distinct, Aquinas provides a unified account of the formal features of their objects (I-II, q. 40, art.1) (see Bobier 2020a). The object of hope, he argues, is always thought to be good and future. Further, in contrast to mere desire, the objects of hope must be difficult to obtain but nevertheless in the realm of possibility (ST I-II 40.1). This rules out hope for that which is trivial to procure.

Regarding the rationality of hope, Aquinas has a nuanced view. On the one hand, he admits that a lack of experience can make one unaware of obstacles. This tendency (and drunkenness, ST I-II 40.6) can promote (irrational) hope. On the other hand, he assumes that hope can promote rational agency: As hope incorporates both knowledge of the possible and knowledge of the difficulties to reach the desired outcome, it can motivate agents to devote energy to their activities.

Because of this ambivalence, hope in the ordinary sense is not a virtue for Aquinas. As a passion, humans can display an excess and a deficiency of hope (ST II-II 17.5); furthermore, passions are not virtues by definition (Bobier 2018). This changes, however, as soon as we examine theological hope, i.e., the hope we can put in God. First, as primarily directed towards God, such hope does not know any excess. Second, we cannot understand theological hope as a passion. We must analyze it as a habit of the will. While hope as a passion can only be incited by sensible goods (and subsequently motivates action insofar as the subject takes herself to be capable of realizing that good), we can also hope for God’s assistance (ST II-II 17.1) in reaching eternal happiness (ST II-II 17.2). As eternal life and happiness are not sensible goods, this kind of hope cannot be a passion but must reside in the will (ST II-II 18.1). Note, however, that Aquinas describes the theological virtues as habits of the will of a special sort: They cannot be acquired by habituation, but can only be given by God’s grace (ST II-II 17.1, see Pinsent 2020 for an interpretation of hope as an “infused” virtue).

Because of these two features, hope is a theological virtue (ST II-II 17.5; see also 1 Corinthians 13). While love (or charity) is directed to God for the sake of unity, faith and hope are directed towards God with a view to some good to be obtained from that unity: Faith relates to God as a source of knowledge, hope relates to God as a source of goodness (ST II-II 17.6).

The rationality of theological hope can only be properly understood, according to Aquinas, when we acknowledge that hope has to be preceded by faith (which underlies the belief in the possibility of salvation), but, given faith, hope for the good of salvation is rational. In contrast to most modern discussions of hope, Aquinas and other Christian authors therefore see hope as compatible with confidence or even certainty about the hoped-for outcome while still excluding knowledge (Jeffrey 2020: 44). Despair, as caused either by the absence of faith or the desire to be saved, is sinful (ST II-II 20.1). As hope is, by definition, future-directed, it is only possible for human beings who are uncertain of whether they are blessed or damned, whereas love can persist even after their ultimate fate has been revealed (ST II-II 18.2–3).

In 17 th and 18 th century philosophy, many philosophers reject Aquinas’ division between different kinds of passions in favor of a moral psychology which classifies emotions and desires together as passions that generate action, of which hope is usually conceived as a species. Almost all authors mentioned in the following also embrace some version of the idea defining for the “standard account” that hope is based on uncertainty in belief together with a representation of an object as desirable (Blöser 2020a).

According to Descartes, hope is a weaker form of confidence ( Passions of the Soul , [1649] 1985: 389) and consists in a desire (a representation of an outcome to be both good for us and possible) together with a disposition to think of it as likely but not certain ( Passions of the Soul , [1649] 1985: 350f, 389). This means that hope and anxiety always accompany each other (in contrast to both despair and confidence which are absolute opposites). Hobbes adopts a similar analysis. For him, hope is a complex passion or a “pleasure of the mind”, i.e., a pleasure that arises not from direct sensation but from thinking. For Hobbes, the simplest building block underlying hope is appetite, and “appetite with an opinion of obtaining” is hope ( Leviathan , 36, I.VI.14). As in Descartes, hope serves as a building block for more complex mental phenomena, such as courage or confidence ( Leviathan , 36f, I.VI.17/19). But hope also plays a role in the mental activity of deliberation which is defined as the alternation of hope and fear with appetites and aversion ( Leviathan , 39, I.VI.49; see also Bobier 2020b). Hope—a term which Hobbes often uses more or less synonymously with (justified) expectation—plays an important role in the political application of his moral psychology: Not only is the equality in the state of nature defined as an equality of hope ( Leviathan , 83, I.XIII.3)—which makes it rational for everyone to pursue their individual advantage—the laws of nature also command one to seek peace where one has hope for obtaining it ( Leviathan , 87, I.XIV.4). Both the collective agency problem in the state of nature and the solution to it thus depend on what hopes individuals can rationally entertain.

Spinoza also defines the passion of hope as a form of pleasure ( Ethics III, P18, Spinoza [1677] 1985: 505) or joy that is mingled with sadness (due to the uncertainty of the outcome, see Short Treatise , book II, ch. IX, Spinoza [c. 1660] 1985: 113). In contrast to more modern definitions, Spinoza distinguishes the pleasure that is involved in hope from desire. Hope (in the Ethics ) is thus not necessarily connected to desire, but rather a way in which the mind is affected by the idea of a future event. In contrast to Hobbes and Descartes, Spinoza understands hope as fundamentally irrational. He argues that it must be the result of false belief inasmuch as it does not correctly represent that everything is governed by necessity ( Short Treatise , book II, ch. IX, [c. 1660] 1985: 113). Additionally, in the Ethics , Spinoza describes hope as one of the causes of superstition, especially as it is always accompanied by fear ( Ethics III, P50, [1677] 1985: 521). Such fear necessarily precludes it from being intrinsically good ( Ethics IV, P47, [1677] 1985: 573). This is also the reason why we should attempt to make ourselves independent from hope (although Gatens et al. (2021: 202) argue that Spinoza also has room for the idea of reasonable hopes).

Spinoza agrees with Hobbes, however, by ascribing political significance to hope. As he explains in the Theological-Political Treatise , the fact that people are governed by hope and fear makes them easy victims of superstition and false belief ( Theological-Political Treatise , [1670] 2002: 389); however, good laws can also take advantage of this and motivate people by arranging outcomes such that they can be motivated by hope ( Theological-Political Treatise , [1670] 2002: 439; see Gatens et al. 2021 for a discussion of the political significance of hope in Spinoza). The same importance he places on hope also underlies his social contract argument. Like Hobbes, he argues that the only reason why people remain faithful to the social contract or carry out the orders of a sovereign has to be found in their hope of obtaining a certain good this way ( Theological-Political Treatise , [1670] 2002: 529). Even a people as a whole is always united by common hopes and fears ( Political Treatise , [1675] 2002: 700), but hope rather than fear is dominant in the case of free peoples (ibid.). This leads Spinoza to proclaim hope and fear as the basis of political power in the Political Treatise ([1675] 2002: 686).

Hume’s account is another example of an analysis of hope as a passion—modified, however, by the specific approach he takes to human psychology. For Hume, hope is a “direct passion” that is produced when the mind considers events that have a probability between absolute certainty and absolute impossibility. Hume describes probability-beliefs as an effect of the mind entertaining contrary views—of an event or object as either existent or non-existent—in quick succession after another. Each of these views gives rise to either joy or sorrow (when the object is something good or bad) which linger longer in the mind than the original imagination of the object’s existence or non-existence. When considering objects that are probable, but not certain, the mind is thus affected by a mixture of joy and sorrow that, depending on the predominant element, can be called hope or fear.

It is after this manner that hope and fear arise from the different mixture of these opposite passions of grief and joy, and from their imperfect union and conjunction. ( Treatise , [1738] 2007: 283)

As Hume sees hope as a necessary effect of the consideration of an uncertain event, it follows that we cannot but hope for any positive outcome about which we are uncertain. The uncertainty in question can be based on the actual uncertainty of the event but also on uncertain belief.

While hope is primarily discussed as a feature of the psychology of individual humans in the 17 th and 18 th century and, as a non-cognitive attitude, taken to be neither essentially rational nor irrational, it is given much greater significance by Immanuel Kant who adopts a much more substantial (and complex) view of the connection between hope and reason.

Kant’s definition of hope as an “unexpected offering of the prospect of immeasurable good fortune” (AE 7:255) in the Anthropology seems to remain within the traditional discourse about hope. However, Kant eventually accords hope a central place in his philosophical system by focusing on hope as an attitude that allows human reason to relate to those questions which cannot be answered by experience. In the Critique of Pure Reason , Kant states the question “For what may I hope?” as one of the fundamental questions of philosophy, after “What can I know?” and “What should I do?” (A805/B833). This question, as far as its answer depends on claims regarding the consequences of moral righteousness and the existence of God, is “simultaneously practical and theoretical” (A805/B833) and it is answered by religion (AE 9:25). Kant’s account of hope consequently connects his moral philosophy with his views on religion. He emphasizes the rational potential of such hope, but he also makes clear that rational hope is intimately connected to religious faith, i.e., the belief in God.

Kant considers three primary objects of hope in his writings: (1) One’s own happiness (as part of the highest good), (2) one’s own moral progress (in the Religion ) and (3) the moral improvement of the human race as a whole (in his historical-political writings).

(1) In the Canon of the Critique of Pure Reason , Kant states clearly: “all hope concerns happiness” (A805/B833). However, it is not the hope for one’s own happiness simpliciter that is at stake, but the hope for happiness that one deserves because of one’s moral conduct (A809/B837). Kant argues that there is a necessary connection between the moral law and the hope for happiness. However, this connection exists only “in the idea of pure reason”, not in nature (A809/B837). A proportionality between happiness and morality can only be thought of as necessary in an intelligible, moral world, where we abstract from all hindrances to moral conduct. In the empirical world of experience, there is no guarantee for a necessary connection between moral conduct and happiness. Thus, Kant concludes, we may reasonably hope for happiness in proportion to morality only if we introduce the additional non-empirical assumption of “a highest reason, which commands in accordance with moral laws, as […] the cause of nature” (A810/B838). This way, Kant connects morality and happiness in the object of hope and secures its possibility in a highest reason, i.e., in God. Kant calls the connection between “happiness in exact proportion with the morality of rational beings, through which they are worthy of it” the highest good (A814/B842). A peculiarity of Kant’s treatment of hope in the Canon is that hope for the highest good is apparently considered necessary for moral motivation (A813/B841)—a thesis he rejects in his later writings.

Kant’s account of hope for happiness presents hope as very closely connected to Kant’s concept of faith. This becomes obvious in the Critique of Practical Reason . Kant argues that in order to believe in the possibility of the highest good—and we have to believe in this possibility, as it is prescribed by the categorical imperative—we have to believe in or postulate the existence of God and the immortality of the soul. Kant himself uses both the concept of belief or faith and the concept of hope in explaining the content of the postulate of immortality: we must presuppose immortality in order to conceive of the highest good as “practically possible” and we may therefore “hope for a further uninterrupted continuance of this [moral] progress, however long his existence may last, even beyond this life” (AE 5:123). Thus, Kant can be understood as arguing in favor of a traditional religious form of hope—hope for a life after death or immortality of the soul. However, he points out that immortality is not a ‘mere’ hope (i.e., a hope for an outcome where we lack evidence for the claim that it is really possible), but that reason makes it necessary (as a consequence of the categorical imperative) to assume that immortality is possible.

Whereas some Kant interpreters do not clearly distinguish between hope and faith (Rossi 1982, Flikschuh 2010), Andrew Chignell emphasizes that hope is an attitude that is distinct from faith or belief and that Kant follows an “assert-the-stronger” policy: He asserts the strongest justified attitude towards p (justified belief), even if one holds also weaker attitudes towards p (hope) (Chignell 2013: 198). O’Neill interprets Kant as holding that hope provides a reason for religious belief: Belief in God and immortality is not “merely possible”, but a matter of “taking a hopeful view of human destiny” (O’Neill 1996: 281). According to O’Neill, the reason for faith is the hope that moral action is successful, i.e., that our moral intention can make a difference to the natural order.

(2) In the Religion , Kant envisages one’s own moral improvement as an object of hope, which requires that one change one’s fundamental maxim from a bad one to a good one. The problem is that on the one hand, we have a duty to improve morally and hence must be capable of doing so (AE 6:45), but on the other hand, it is unclear how this can be possible if one’s fundamental maxim is corrupt. Since we cannot know how this is possible, moral improvement remains an object of hope. Kant suggests two alternative hopes: the hope to, through one’s “own efforts”, become a better person (AE 6:46) and the hope that what exceeds one’s power will be taken care of by God (AE 6:52).

(3) In his political and historical writings, Kant considers another object of reasonable hope: the hope for historical progress towards a morally better, peaceful future. We find a similar relationship between rational belief and hope as with regard to God and immortality: Kant sees the moral improvement of the human race as a hope that is based on a transcendental assumption (in the mode of faith) in a teleological order of nature. Kant assigns “hope for better times” an important function for moral motivation by claiming that without it, the desire to benefit the common good would “never have warmed the human heart” (AE 8:309). Kant recommends a view of human history with a “confirmation bias” (Kleingeld 2012: 175), i.e., with a view to the realization of moral demands.

Aside from these systematic issues regarding hope in Kant’s philosophy, it is worth summarizing some general features that Kant touches upon concerning hope. Regarding a descriptive account of what it means that a person hopes that p , one can extract two necessary conditions from Kant’s remarks that are in line with the standard account of hope: The object of hope must be uncertain, and the person must wish for it. Both conditions can be found in the following passage from Perpetual Peace :

[R]eason is not enlightened enough to survey the entire series of predetermining causes that foretell with certainty the happy or unhappy consequences of humankind’s activities in accordance with the mechanism of nature (although it does let us hope that these will be in accord with our wishes). (AE 8:370)

In regard to the normative conditions under which hope is rational, Kant is sensitive to a theoretical and practical dimension: He focuses on hopes that are (necessarily) connected with a moral duty and thus involve a practical necessity . From a theoretical point of view, Kant’s main concern is to show that these hopes are not impossible. While he holds that empirical evidence permits hoping as long as there is no proof to the contrary (AE 8:309f.), this minimal criterion is connected to the idea that hope is based on transcendental assumptions (i.e., the existence of God, immortality, and a teleology of nature) (Blöser 2020b).

Kant’s account of hope has recently attracted considerable interest, both regarding matters of Kant scholarship and the application and development of a Kantian notion of hope in various contexts. As to Kant scholarship, Düring and Düwell (2017) follow Beyleveld and Ziche (2015) in emphasizing the relevance of the Critique of Judgment for an understanding of Kantian hope –– they view hope as aesthetically structured . Zuckert (2018) argues that Kantian hope is a feeling . Danziger (2020) makes the case that hope plays a role even in Kant’s theoretical philosophy.

As to the application and development of Kant’s account of hope, Chignell (2018) reconstructs Kant’s moral argument for faith in the existence of God (where hope plays a crucial role) and explores its relevance for political contexts (the food system), where the chances that an individual will make a difference are very low. Similarly, Huber (2019) argues that Kantian hope can be seen as playing an important role in preventing demoralization and sustaining the commitment to political action when the prospects of success are dim. Dineen (2020) delineates a Kantian conception of hope that might inform practical education, because it warrants us in thinking that we are able to set and achieve ends, even in light of imperfection and vulnerability. Speight (2021) shows how Walter Benjamin took up and transformed Kant’s account of hope by shifting from a personal to a collective perspective on hope and to a concern with the past.

In Post-Kantian philosophy, the role of hope is disputed. One can identify two distinct approaches. On the one hand, there are authors like Arthur Schopenhauer, Friedrich Nietzsche and Albert Camus who reject hope, not so much as epistemically irrational but as an expression of a misguided relationship to the world that is unable to face the demands of human existence. On the other hand, authors like Søren Kierkegaard and Gabriel Marcel take hope to be a means to overcome the limitations of ordinary experience.

Kierkegaard examines hope primarily as it is connected to religious faith. However, whereas Kant aims to show that our belief in God and hope for the highest good is possible within the limits of reason, Kierkegaard is keen to emphasize that (eternal) hope must transcend all understanding. As an antidote to despair, hope plays a positive role in Kierkegaard’s work, culminating in his advice: “a person’s whole life should be the time of hope!” (Kierkegaard [1847] 1995: 251). In Works of Love , Kierkegaard defines hope in its most general form as a relation to the possibility of the good: “To relate oneself expectantly to the possibility of the good is to hope ” (Kierkegaard [1847] 1995: 249).

Most interpreters of Kierkegaard emphasize a distinction between “heavenly” (or eternal) hope and “earthly” (or temporal) hope (Bernier 2015; Fremstedal 2012; McDonald 2014). In some passages, Kierkegaard indeed seems to assume that there is also “natural hope” (Kierkegaard [1851] 1990: 82) or hope “for some earthly advantage” (Kierkegaard [1847] 1995: 261). However, strictly speaking, Kierkegaard considers this the “wrong language usage” (Kierkegaard [1847] 1995: 261). He completes his definition as follows: “To relate oneself expectantly to the possibility of the good is to hope , which cannot be any temporal expectancy but is an eternal hope” (Kierkegaard [1847] 1995: 249). On Kierkegaard’s view, hope—strictly speaking—is thus always directed towards the eternal, “since hope pertains to the possibility of the good, and thereby to the eternal” (Kierkegaard [1847] 1995: 249). This is connected to Kierkegaard’s account of time. Hope, as a form of expectation, is an attitude towards the possible. While expectation, generally speaking, relates to the possibility of both good and evil (Kierkegaard [1847] 1995: 249), hope relates only to the possibility of good. The possibility of the good, on Kierkegaard’s account, is a feature of the eternal (“in time, the eternal is the possible, the future”).

While the expectation of earthly goods is often disappointed—either because it is fulfilled too late or not at all (Kierkegaard [1843–1844] 1990: 215)—eternal hope cannot in principle be disappointed (Kierkegaard [1847] 1995: 261–3, Kierkegaard [1843–1844] 1990: 216). Eternal hope means “at every moment always to hope all things” (Kierkegaard [1847] 1995: 249). Kierkegaard mostly equates eternal hope with Christian hope (McDonald 2014: 164).

In order to understand the relation between earthly and heavenly hope, it is helpful to consider the dialectical progression of hope that Kierkegaard presents in the Nachlaß (Malantschuk (ed.) 1978: 247). There is a kind of hope that occurs spontaneously in youth, which appears to be a pre-reflexive hope, a kind of immediate trust or confidence (Fremstedal 2012: 52). It is followed by the “supportive calculation of the understanding”, i.e., by hope involving the reflection about the probability of the hoped-for outcome. This (earthly) hope is often disappointed by the lateness or non-arrival of the expected goods. This disappointment is necessary in order to acquire eternal hope, which “is against hope, because according to that purely natural hope there was no more hope; consequently this hope is against hope” (Kierkegaard [1851] 1990: 82). Kierkegaard’s interpretation of Abraham’s story in Fear and Trembling can be understood as an illustration of this kind of hope (Lippitt 2015).

Whereas earthly hope is judged by the understanding according to its probability, eternal hope exceeds the limits of understanding. It is therefore commonly judged as irrational or as “lunacy” (Kierkegaard [1851] 1990: 83). Kierkegaard does not explicitly take up the question of when hope is rational—presumably because eternal hope exceeds reason—but he frames the question of good or bad hope in terms of “honor” and “shame” (Kierkegaard [1847] 1995: 260f.). He observes that a person who entertained an earthly hope that has not been fulfilled is very often criticized as imprudent (or “put to shame” (Kierkegaard [1847] 1995: 260)) because this is supposed to show that she “miscalculated” (ibid.). Kierkegaard objects to this perspective of “sagacity” that judges hope only with regard to its fulfillment. Rather, we should pay attention to the value of the hoped-for ends (Kierkegaard [1847] 1995: 261). Eternal hope, on this account, “is never put to shame” (Kierkegaard [1847] 1995: 260, see also 263). Further, and in line with the Christian tradition, he argues that the value of hope depends on its relation to love: We hope for ourselves if and only if we hope for others, and only to the same degree. Love

is the middle term: without love, no hope for oneself; with love, hope for all others—and to the same degree one hopes for oneself, to the same degree one hopes for others, since to the same degree one is loving. (Kierkegaard [1847] 1995: 260)

Thus, similarly to Kant’s account, one’s hope stands in a proportional relationship to an ethical demand. However, Kierkegaard does not see hope limited by our meeting an ethical demand.

Rather, Kierkegaard sees the proportional relation as determining whether we are in fact hoping , and the actual degree of our expectancy. Our hope for ourselves is only realizable in and through our hope for another. (Bernier 2015: 315)

As already mentioned, Schopenhauer represents the opposite approach in post-Kantian philosophy. Even though he holds that it is natural for humans to hope ( Parerga and Paralipomena II, 1851: §313), he also claims that we generally ought to hope less than we are inclined to, calling hope a “folly of the heart” (ibid.). Ambivalent remarks concerning the value of hope (he interprets Pandora’s box as containing all the goods, Parerga and Paralipomena II, 1851: §200) can be found throughout his writings, but on the whole, criticism prevails. There are two aspects to his critical evaluation of hope: hope’s influence on the intellect and its role for happiness. In Schopenhauer’s dichotomy of the will and the intellect, hope is an expression of the will or, more precisely, an inclination. One reason why hope is problematic with respect to its influence on the intellect is that it presents what we wish for as probable ( The World as Will and Representation , vol. 2, [1818] 1958: 216, 218). Schopenhauer concedes that hope sharpens our perception insofar as it makes certain features of the world salient. But he links this thesis to the stronger claim that hope may make it (often) impossible to grasp things that are relevant. Hope thus distorts cognition in a problematic way because it hinders the intellect in grasping the truth. However, Schopenhauer also concedes the possibility of a positive effect of hope, namely as motivation and support of the intellect ( The World as Will and Representation , vol. 2, [1818] 1958: 221).

With regard to its contribution to personal happiness, Schopenhauer mentions a positive role of hope in his comparison of the life of animals with that of humans. He states that animals experience less pleasure than humans, because they lack hope and therefore the pleasures of anticipation. But hope can not only lead to disappointment when the hoped-for object is not realized, it can even be disappointing when it is fulfilled if the outcome does not provide as much satisfaction as was expected ( The World as Will and Representation , vol. 2 [1818] 1958: 573). Schopenhauer also criticizes Kant’s idea that we may hope for our own happiness in proportion to our moral conduct (the highest good). This conception of hope, according to Schopenhauer, leads Kant to remain implicitly committed to a form of eudaimonism ( Basis of Morality II, §3, 34).

Thus, even though Schopenhauer occasionally hints at positive aspects of hope, his overall evaluation of hope is negative. This is consistent with his view that life is filled with unavoidable frustration and suffering, and that suffering can be reduced only by getting rid of one’s desires. Ideally, this amounts to the “negation of the will to life” ( The World as Will and Representation , vol. 1, [1818] 2010: 405). The “temptations of hope” ( The World as Will and Representation , vol. 1, [1818] 2010: 419) function as obstacles to the negation of the will, whereas hopelessness can help to transform one’s mind and acquire “genuine goodness and purity of mind” ( The World as Will and Representation , vol. 1, [1818] 2010: 420). Interestingly, Schopenhauer does have sympathies with the idea of salvation, which lies in the denial of the will (Schopenhauer [1818] 1958: 610), that is, he seems to subscribe to a kind of transcendent hope for an end of all suffering (Schulz 2002: 125). Even though he does not say so, one could characterize his view as a “hope for the end of hope”.

Nietzsche is perhaps the most famous critic of hope in the post-Kantian tradition. In the third preface to Zarathustra , he warns: “do not believe those who speak to you of extraterrestrial hopes!” ( Zarathustra , [1883–85] 2006: 6) Similarly, in Beyond Good and Evil (1886) he opposes all notions of hope “in hidden harmonies, in future blessedness and justice” ( Beyond Good and Evil , [1886] 2008: 562). In his interpretation of Pandora’s myth (Human, All Too Human , 1878: §71), he calls hope “the worst of all evils because it prolongs the torments of man”. However, a closer look reveals that, outside his criticism of religious and metaphysical hopes, he also hints at a positive perspective on hope: “ that mankind be redeemed from revenge: that to me is the bridge to the highest hope and a rainbow after long thunderstorms” ( Zarathustra , [1883–85] 2006: 77). Nietzsche counts hope among the “strong emotions” (Nietzsche [1887] 2006: 103), next to anger, fear, voluptuousness, and revenge. Furthermore, he repeatedly characterizes hope using the metaphor of a rainbow: “hope is the rainbow over the cascading stream of life” [“Die Hoffnung ist der Regenbogen über den herabstürzenden jähen Bach des Lebens”] (as cited in Bidmon 2016: 188). However, the metaphor of the “rainbow” is ambivalent. On the one hand, it is connected to Nietzsches vision of the “overman”: “Do you not see it, the rainbow and the bridges of the overman?” ( Zarathustra , [1883–85] 2006: 36). On the other hand, however, the rainbow is elusive and withdraws itself—Nietzsche calls it an “illusory bridge” ( Zarathustra , [1883–85] 2006: 175; see also Bidmon 2016: 188f.). In Beyond Good and Evil , he finally claims that we should “fix our hopes” in “new philosophers”, “in minds strong and original enough to initiate opposite estimates of value” ( Beyond Good and Evil , [1886] 2008: 600). In Human, All Too Human , he similarly envisages change of the social order as an object of hope:

[W]e are only reasonably entitled to hope when we believe that we and our equals have more strength in heart and head than the representatives of the existing state of things. ( Human, All Too Human , 1878: §443)

Reasonable hope is thus grounded in a trust in one’s capacity to bring about the desired outcome. However, Nietzsche adds that usually this hope amounts to “presumption, an over-estimation ” (ibid.).

Camus follows Nietzsche in declaring (religious) hope the worst of all evils (Judaken and Bernasconi 2012: 264). His critique of hope is linked to the idea that the human existence is absurd. The “elusive feeling of absurdity” (Camus 1955: 12) is characterized by a discrepancy: The human mind asks fundamental questions about the meaning of life, but the world does not provide answers. Camus’ understanding of the absurd is best captured in the image of Sisyphus, who exemplifies life’s absurdity in his “futile and hopeless labor” (Camus 1955: 119). The assumption that life is absurd goes hand in hand with the denial of religious hope for salvation. In his early writing Nuptials ([1938] 1970), Camus opposes religious ideas about the immortal soul and hope for an afterlife. In fact, “[ h ] ope is the error Camus wishes to avoid” (Aronson 2012). Even though Camus is often regarded as an existentialist, he distances himself from this movement. One reason is precisely his disagreement with the account of hope of the existentialists, Kierkegaard in particular, of which he says that “they deify what crushes them and find reason to hope in what impoverishes them. That forced hope is religious in all of them” (Camus 1955: 32).

As already mentioned, one kind of hope that Camus flatly rejects is religious hope for a life beyond death. A second kind of hope, primarily discussed in The Rebel , is the hope founded on a great cause beyond oneself, i.e., “hope of another life one must ‘deserve’” (Camus 1955: 8). The problem with hoping for social utopias, according to Camus, is that they tend to be dictatorial. A further reason to reject such hopes seems to be that they distract from the life of the senses, from the here-and-now and from appreciating the beauty of this life. We also do not need hope to cope with the hardships of life and death: Instead of hoping for a life after death (or committing suicide), one should be conscious of death as “the most obvious absurdity” (Camus 1955: 59) and “die unreconciled and not of one’s own free will” (Camus 1955: 55). Sisyphus exemplifies the attitude of lucidity and consciousness that Camus recommends. Even though he does not hope for a better future,—or rather because he does not hope for a better future—“[o]ne must imagine Sisyphus happy” (Camus 1955: 123).

Despite his criticism of hope, Camus states that it is (nearly) impossible to live without hope, even if one wishes to be free of hope (Camus 1955: 113). Presumably this claim is only descriptive, stating a fact about human psychology. However, in a letter to his friend and poet René Char, Camus called The Rebel a “livre d’espoir” [book of hope] (Schlette 1995: 130). On that note, it has recently been suggested that Camus allows for a positive view of hope—a kind of “étrange espoir” [strange hope] that is directed towards the possibilities inherent in the present (Schlette 1995: 134) and that is characterized by humanism and solidarity with all human beings (Bidmon 2016: 233).

Whereas the positive role of hope in Camus is at best hidden, it surfaces prominently in the writings of Marcel. At the heart of Marcel’s account of hope is the distinction between “‘I hope…’, the absolute statement, and ‘I hope that…’” (Marcel [1952] 2010: 26). Marcel is mostly interested in a general, absolute hope, which he conceives as “the act by which […] temptation to despair is actively or victoriously overcome” (Marcel [1952] 2010: 30f.). One way in which Marcel characterizes the “mystery” (Marcel [1952] 2010: 29) of hope is by alluding to the connection between hope and patience (Marcel [1952] 2010: 33). Hope implies the respect for “personal rhythm” (ibid.) and “confidence in a certain process of growth and development” (Marcel [1952] 2010: 34). Marcel takes up the question of the rationality of hope in asking whether hope is an illusion that consists in taking one’s wishes for reality (Marcel [1952] 2010: 39). He answers that this objection against the value of hope applies primarily to hopes that are directed towards a particular outcome (“to hope that X”), but it does not apply when hope transcends the imagination. Because the person who hopes simpliciter does not anticipate a particular event, her hope cannot be judged with regard to whether it is likely to be fulfilled. Marcel illustrates this with the example of an invalid (Marcel [1952] 2010: 40). If this person hopes that he will be healthy at a certain point in time, there is the danger of disappointment and despair if it does not happen. However, absolute hope, Marcel explains, implies a “method of surmounting”: The patient has absolute hope if he realizes that “everything is not necessarily lost if there is no cure” (Marcel [1952] 2010: 40). Being a “theistic Existentialist” (Treanor and Sweetman 2016) like Kierkegaard, Marcel ultimately connects this possibility of absolute hope to the existence of God. Absolute hope is necessarily connected to faith in God and is a “response of the creature to the infinite Being to whom it is conscious of owing everything that it has” (Marcel [1952] 2010: 41).

Even though hope rarely features explicitly in pragmatist writings, it has been suggested that pragmatist accounts of hope can be found in the works of William James and John Dewey (Fishman and McCarthy 2007; Green 2008; Koopman 2006, 2009; Rorty 1999; Shade 2001). As Patrick Shade notes, the issue of hope is “implicit in most pragmatic philosophies”, as it is related to central pragmatist topics, such as meliorism and faith, and particular hopes for social progress (Shade 2001: 9f.). Sarah Stitzlein (2020) argues that a conception of hope as a set of habits unites the understanding of hope in the writings of the classical pragmatists (Charles Peirce, William James, John Dewey) and is further developed in the social and political writings of recent pragmatists (Richard Rorty, Judith Green, Cornel West, Patrick Shade, Colin Koopman).

Indeed, James’ concept of faith in The Will to Believe is closely linked to hope. In his essay, James aims to offer a “justification of faith, a defense of our right to adopt a believing attitude in religious matters” (James [1897] 2015: 1). Even though his primary subject is religious faith, he points out that a structurally similar justification of faith or trust can be applied to social questions. It can be rational to believe that the other is trustworthy or likes us, even though we may not be able to prove it. Three criteria have to be fulfilled for faith to be rational: the question cannot be decided scientifically, the belief may be true, and we are better off (even now) if we believe. In his argument, James draws a link to the concept of hope when claiming that the skeptic or agnostic attitude is not more rational than the attitude of faith. The skeptic holds “that to yield to our fear of its being error is wiser and better than to yield to our hope that it may be true” (James [1897] 2015: 27). James criticizes this attitude: “what proof is there that dupery through hope is so much worse than dupery through fear?” (James [1897] 2015: 27).

A pragmatist conception of hope has often been seen as closely linked to the idea of meliorism and progress (e.g., in Dewey’s work, see Shade 2001: 139). In his lectures on Pragmatism , James situates the doctrine of meliorism between pessimism and optimism: “Meliorism treats salvation as neither necessary nor impossible. It treats it as a possibility” (James 2000: 125). For Dewey, the object of hope or meliorism is first and foremost democracy, which is “the simple idea that political and ethical progress hinges on nothing more than persons, their values, and their actions” (Dewey [1916] 1980: 107).

Drawing on James’ account of conversion in the Varieties of Religious Experience , Sheehey argues that James can be seen as advocating a concept of hope that does not rely on the idea of progress, but relies on a “temporality of crisis” that allows for an understanding of historical change beyond progress or decline (Sheehey 2019).

The contemporary debate about hope in analytic philosophy is primarily concerned with providing a definition of hope, explicating standards of rationality and explaining the value of hope. The debate takes as its starting point what has been called the “orthodox definition” (Martin 2013: 11) or the “standard account” (Meirav 2009: 217), which analyzes “hope that p ” in terms of a wish or desire for p and a belief concerning p ’s possibility. R.S. Downie is representative of this position:

There are two criteria which are independently necessary and jointly sufficient for ‘hope that’. The first is that the object of hope must be desired by the hoper. […] The second […] is that the object of hope falls within a range of physical possibility which includes the improbable but excludes the certain and the merely logically possible. (Downie 1963: 248f.)

Similarly, J. P. Day writes:

“ A hopes that p ” is true iff “ A wishes that p , and A thinks that p has some degree of probability, however small” is true. (Day 1969: 89)

The desire-condition captures the intuition that we only hope for what we take to be good (at least in some respect) or desirable. The belief component is meant to capture the intuition that we do not normally hope for what we think is impossible (or certain), whereas this is not a problem for desires or wishes (in e.g., “I wish I could fly”).

Most authors implicitly assume that the hoped-for event is in the future. In ordinary usage however, people often express hopes regarding past events of which they do not have complete knowledge. An example is the hope that someone did not suffer excessively when they died. While some authors consider this use of language to be parasitic on the future-directed case (McGeer 2004: 104), others argue that these are genuine cases of hope (Martin 2013: 68).

Another question in this context concerns the concept of possibility that is at issue: It seems clear that we cannot hope for the logically impossible, but can we hope for the physically impossible, e.g., that the dead will rise tomorrow? Downie, for example, holds that logical possibility is not enough (Downie 1963: 249), whereas Chignell does not exclude the possibility of hope for something which is physically impossible (Chignell 2013: 201ff.). Whatever the answer to this question, all views (except Wheatley 1958) allow for cases of hope in which the outcome is extremely improbable; in other words, no lower bound to the probability is required for hoping (Meirav 2009: 219).

Objections have been raised against the idea that the standard definition provides sufficient conditions for hope. There are two main lines of objections: the “despair objection” and the “substantial hope objection” (Milona 2020a: 103). According to the “despair objection”, two people can have identical desires and beliefs about the possibility of an outcome, and yet one of them may hope for the outcome while the other despairs of it (Meirav 2009). The “substantial hope objection” holds that even though the standard definition might capture a minimal sense of hope, it fails to explain the special value of more “substantial” kinds of hope. In particular, it fails to explain how hope can have special motivating force in difficult circumstances, especially when the probability of the desired outcome is low (Pettit 2004; Calhoun 2018). These objections either lead to the claim that the standard definition must be revised or motivate the proposal that hope is entirely different from desire and belief, and hence irreducible to them.

Luc Bovens suggests that besides desire and belief, hope also involves mental imaging (Bovens 1999). However, it has been objected that mental imaging is already entailed by desire (and hence, that the standard definition can account for this) and that it is still not able to distinguish hope from despair, since a despairing person can still form mental images about the desired outcome. Andrew Chignell suggests a variant of Bovens’ account, although he does not require imaging but a specific kind of attention: A subject who hopes is disposed to focus on the desired outcome under the aspect of its possibility , while a despairing subject focuses on the outcome under the aspect of its improbability (Chignell forthcoming).

According to Meirav’s “External Factor Account” (Meirav 2009: 230), hope also involves an attitude towards an external factor (e.g., nature, fate, God) on which the realization of the hoped-for end causally depends. “If one views the external factor as good, then one hopes for the prospect. If one views it as not good, then one despairs of it” (Meirav 2009: 230). However, it is doubtful whether Meirav’s account is applicable to cases of hope where the realization of the outcome depends on luck (e.g., hoping to win the lottery). Further, it seems that one might hope even in circumstances where one believes the external factor to be bad, e.g., in unjust political circumstances.

While Meirav aims to answer the despair objection, Philip Pettit and Cheshire Calhoun suggest solutions to the substantial hope objection. In order to capture the motivating power of hope, Pettit distinguishes the “superficial” kind of hope described by the orthodox definition from a more “substantial” hope (Pettit 2004: 154). He construes substantial hope as acting on a belief that the agent does not really hold:

Hope will consist in acting as if a desired prospect is going to obtain or has a good chance of obtaining, just as precaution consists in acting as if this were the case with some feared prospect. (Pettit 2004: 158)

However, in typical cases, a hopeful person does not describe herself as acting as if the chances were higher, but as taking the chances as they are as good enough to try (Martin 2013: 23). Cheshire Calhoun (2018) shares Adrienne Martin’s criticism and argues that we need to distinguish a ‘planning idea’ from a ‘phenomenological idea’ of the future: The third component of hope besides desire and belief, according to her, is “ a phenomenological idea of the determinate future whose content includes success ” (Calhoun 2018: 86). This phenomenological idea, she argues, has motivational effects independently of the agent’s desires.

According to Martin’s suggestion (Martin 2013), hope involves two more elements in addition to belief and desire: First, the agent must see or treat her belief about the possibility of the outcome’s occurring as licensing hopeful activities, i.e., as not advising against some specific activities. Second, the agent must treat her attraction to the outcome as a practical reason to engage in the activities characteristic of hope. Martin calls her account the Incorporation Thesis , which refers to the fact that the hoping person incorporates the desire-element into her rational scheme of ends.

Martin’s proposal has been criticized as being overly reflective and unable to account for “recalcitrant” hopes where the hoping person does not see herself as justified in her hopeful activities (Milona and Stockdale 2018). Milona and Stockdale offer an account of hope that is inspired by the philosophy of emotions: They describe hope as a kind of perceptual state that involves a “hopeful” feeling.

There is an ever-increasing number of accounts that aim to remedy the shortcomings of the standard definition (see also Kwong 2019, Palmqvist 2021). The discussion seems to come full circle with Michael Milona’s return to the standard definition: Rather than augmenting the standard account, he suggests that one should employ a rich notion of desire and a suitable account of the relation between the desire and the belief—the belief in the possibility of the outcome must be in the “cognitive base” of the desire (Milona 2019).

The view that hope can be reduced to desires and beliefs (and a third factor) is not without alternative, however. Segal and Textor (2015) argue that hope is a primitive mental state that can be characterized by its functional role; Blöser (2019) argues that hope is an irreducible concept . This latter view is compatible with ontological variety and the view that different manifestations of hope are related in terms of family resemblance.

As for the norms of hope, there is consensus regarding the point that there is a theoretical (or epistemic) and a practical aspect to the rationality of hope. On the theoretical side, the question is whether the outcome is indeed possible (this amounts to evaluating hope in terms of its correctness) and whether the person is justified in her taking the outcome to be possible (this amounts to evaluating hope in terms of justification or responsiveness to reasons). One question of debate is whether the outcome must also be probable to a certain degree in order for hope to be rational (for an affirmative answer, see Moellendorf 2020 and Stockdale 2021). Andy Mueller captures the epistemic rationality of hope by specifying the idea that “hoping that p” is rationally incompatible with “knowing that not-p” (Mueller 2021: 45). (On the relation between hope and knowledge, see also Benton 2021).

On the practical side, most authors focus on the instrumental rationality of hope. Martin holds that hope is rational “so long as it promotes her [the agent’s] rational ends to do these things [i.e. engage in hopeful activities such as acting to promote the end, fantasizing about the outcome, entertaining certain feelings of anticipation]” (Martin 2013). Similarly, Pettit emphasizes the instrumental value hope has for the pursuit of our ends (Pettit 2004: 161).

However, the practical rationality of hope does not seem to be exhausted by instrumental considerations. Bovens argues that in cases where hoping has no instrumental value (because we cannot help bring about the desired state), hope can still have intrinsic value in virtue of its concomitant mental imaging: This characteristic of hope is responsible for its intrinsic value in three respects: First, hope has intrinsic value because the mental imaging connected to it (that is, the imaginative anticipation of the fulfillment of one’s hope) is pleasurable in itself (Bovens 1999: 675f.). Second, hope has epistemic value because it increases one’s self-understanding. Third, hope has intrinsic worth because it is constitutive of love towards others and towards oneself, which are intrinsically valuable activities. It is in virtue of mental imaging that hope is intimately connected to love, because spending mental energy in thinking about the well-being of another person is constitutive of loving her. Bloeser and Stahl (2017) argue that certain hopes—fundamental hopes—can be rational in virtue of their contribution to the practical identity of the hoping person.

Finally, it is a matter of debate how the theoretical and the practical dimension of rationality are related. On Martin’s account, the practical dimension has priority. Miriam Schleiffer McCormick, by contrast, holds that the theoretical and practical dimensions equally contribute to hope’s overall rationality and are intertwined (McCormick 2017).

Another approach to the value of hope explores the prospects of understanding hope as a virtue. Michael Milona interprets hope as a moral virtue along the lines of “getting one’s priorities straight” (Milona 2020b). (For another attempt to understand hope as a moral virtue, see Han-Pile/Stern, forthcoming; for a critical view of such an enterprise, see Bobier 2018.) Michael Lamb aims to apply the structure of Thomas Aquinas’ theological virtue of hope to argue that hope can be a democratic virtue that perfects acts of hoping in fellow citizens to achieve democratic goods (Lamb 2016). Nancy Snow (2013) proposes that hope can be understood as an intellectual virtue. (For a critical assessment of Snow’s approach, see Cobb 2015.)

Accounts of hope as a virtue suggest that not all instances of hope can be described as “hope that p ”, i.e., as propositional hopes that the standard definition and its successors aim to analyze. There are two kinds of non-propositional hope that are subject to debate (see Rioux 2021): First, as Lamb’s account suggests, we might have hope in a person, which Adrienne Martin calls “interpersonal hope” (Martin 2020). Second, it has been suggested that there is an attitude of indeterminate hope that is able to survive the loss of particular, determinate hopes. The distinction between “hope that” and hope without a determinate object has been introduced into the philosophical discourse by Gabriel Marcel and has recently been taken up (with or without explicit reference to Marcel) by otherwise different accounts. Joseph Godfrey calls hope without object “fundamental hope” and bases his account on an analysis of Bloch, Kant and Marcel (Godfrey 1987). Patrick Shade’s pragmatist theory distinguishes particular hopes and hopefulness as “an openness to possibilities that are meaningful and promising for us” (Shade 2001: 139). Jonathan Lear similarly describes “radical hope” as a sense of a future in which “something good will emerge” (Lear 2006: 94), even though all particular hopes were destroyed; and Matthew Ratcliffe takes such radical hope as an instance of “pre-intentional hope”, which is

a kind of general orientation or sense of how things are with the world, in the context of which intentional states of the kind “I hope that p ” are possible. (Ratcliffe 2013: 602)

Psychologists and psychoanalysts have systematically investigated hope since the 1950s (Frank 1968, for an overview, see Gallagher et al. 2020). In many of these first studies, hope was seen as a cognitive process of directing agency that rests on the perception of an outcome as important for an agent to achieve and as having a certain probability (Stotland 1969). While this understanding of hope deviates from the standard philosophical account (see section 3) by requiring a minimal probability, it continues to play a major role in the current psychological literature.

Currently, the most influential psychological approach to hope is Charles Snyder’s hope theory (for an overview, see Rand and Cheavens 2009). Snyder defines hope as follows:

Within a goal-setting framework, we propose that there are two major, interrelated elements of hope. First, we hypothesize that hope is fueled by the perception of successful agency related to goals. The agency component refers to a sense of successful determination in meeting goals in the past, present, and future. Second, we hypothesize that hope is influenced by the perceived availability of successful pathways related to goals. (Snyder et al. 1991: 570)

On this basis, Snyder and others have developed various measures of hope, such as the Adult Hope Scale (ibid.), and the State Hope Scale (Snyder et al. 1996) that have received strong experimental support and are widely used globally (see Gallagher et al. 2020: 193–196 and Rose and Sieben 2018 for discussion of other measures).

Several objections have been raised against Snyder’s analysis of hope. One is that the “perception of agency” relates both to the past and the future and therefore measures a general trait of hopefulness rather than the hope for specific outcomes. As a response, psychologists have developed further “domain-specific” hope scales (Lopez et al. 2000: 61). A second question concerns the issue of whether Snyder’s definition of hope is sufficiently distinct from optimism (see Miceli and Castelfranchi 2010; Aspinwall and Leaf 2002). Snyder wants to distinguish hope from optimism by linking hope to beliefs about self-efficacy (Snyder 2002; Snyder, Rand and Sigmon 2018; Magaletta and Oliver 1999) and reserving the term “optimism” for generalized expectations about positive outcomes. However, the ordinary use of the term is better captured by the idea that hope can be upheld even if one does not assign a high probability to the outcome.

Hope can play three distinct roles in politics (see Stahl 2020): It can be instrumentally valuable insofar as its motivating influence makes it more likely that people achieve politically desirable goals. It can also be constitutive of politics, in that it is necessary for certain hopes to be present for the space of the political to emerge at all. For example, Spinoza argues that citizens can only act together politically if they have civic hope, through which they see each other as sources of potential benefits (Steinberg 2018: 90). Lastly, hope can also play a justificatory role, insofar it is possible that certain policies can only be publicly justified by reference to hopes that those promoting them reasonably entertain.

The potential for hope to both motivate and mislead is widely discussed in ancient and modern philosophy, but systematic accounts of the political relevance of hope stem only from the 20th century (for an overview, see Blöser, Huber and Moellendorf 2020). Many of these contributions can be understood as raising questions about the possible justifications of being guided in one’s political agency by hope, on the one hand, and about the benefits and risks of hope for politics on the other.

Regarding the first question about the justification of hope, one of the earliest and most ambitious accounts can be found in Ernst Bloch’s The Principle of Hope . Bloch advances his argument in the context of a debate in early 20th-century Marxism, distinguishing between what he calls the “cold” and the “warm stream”: The first designates the materialist insight that all historical developments are conditioned and constrained by concrete, existing material conditions, “strict determinations that cannot be skipped over” (Bloch [1954–59] 1986: I:208), whereas the second acknowledges a processual constitution of reality which is captured by hope. Hope, in other words, is justified by its correctly grasping facts about the world. In particular, Bloch describes hope as always related to the “not-yet-conscious” that in turn reflects “objective possibilities”. This idea is related to Bloch’s processual metaphysics, according to which objective tendencies and possibilities interact with “closed” matters of fact, such that the moment of potentiality surpassing into actuality always opens up opportunities for the interventions of active decision-making. The right way to relate to these opportunities is, according to Bloch, “militant optimism”, i.e., not a mere assumption that things will develop in a desirable direction, but an active attitude towards real tendencies with the goal to realize them (Bloch [1954–59] 1986: I:201). Arguing from these premises, Bloch develops an integrated theory in which hope is not merely a subjective combination of desires and beliefs about probabilities or facts, but rather a reflection of metaphysical possibilities in the world and part of a range of human capacities that make it possible to relate to that which is not yet, but which is already prefigured in the objective potentials of reality.

While most contemporary political philosophers acknowledge that many of our political hopes are grounded in reality, few go as far as Bloch to also see a general attitude of hopefulness as justified by metaphysical considerations. In Law of Peoples , Rawls, for example, holds that political theories need to develop a “realistic utopia” of justice to reliably guide our political agency and to “support and strengthen” our political hopes (Rawls 2003: 23). Howard (2019: 300) argues that such a utopia refers to an outcome that is possible and reachable under favorable conditions, but which may be extremely improbable nevertheless. Following Kant, Rawls seems to assume that the main justification for our political hopes for justice seems to come from the fact that we need such hopes to be able to continue to be moved by considerations of justice, and that it would be unreasonable to give up political hope for that reason. Bourke (forthcoming) takes a closer look at the similarities and differences between Kant and Rawls regarding their justifications of belief and hope.

In similar terms, some contemporary authors think of a disposition to have certain hopes as a democratic virtue that can be fostered or undermined by states. Moellendorf (2006) makes an argument to this effect that is restricted to societies transitioning from severe injustice towards justice: Because citizens need hopes to be motivationally capable to engage in the risky activities necessary to pursue societal change, and because hopes for a more just future can support their self-respect under unjust circumstances, institutions of transitional societies must supply the “institutional bases of hope”, such as possibilities for free political campaigning and open debate. Snow (2018: 414) argues that societies that do not offer citizens “secure attachment” create “worrier” citizens that are more likely to succumb to paranoid nationalism, whereas “carers” who are hopeful citizens are more likely to embrace a more inclusive national identity. More narrowly, Snow defines “civic hope” as an “entrenched disposition of openness to the political possibilities a democratic government can provide. Hope must include the belief that the ends of democracy are possible” (2018: 419) and argues—drawing on the pragmatist tradition (see section 2.6 above)—that this disposition is a virtue that contributes to the flourishing of their lives as citizens as well as of the state they live in.

While most contemporary liberal views follow these arguments in replacing Bloch’s metaphysical foundations of hope with moral justifications, defenders of “unjustifiable” political hope, such as Richard Rorty, argue for the more radical claim that we cannot, as a matter of principle, provide any fundamental justification for the desirability of the outcomes that we hope for. As Rorty famously rejects the idea of a political philosophy that is based on privileged knowledge or insight, he argues that “liberal hope” (i.e., hope for the emergence and sustenance of liberal societies) similarly cannot be based on any foundations—such as knowledge about probabilities. Rather, it is an attitude by which those who have it express their commitment to certain forms of future interaction and their belief in their possibility. In Contingency, Irony, and Solidarity , Rorty correspondingly contrasts two forms of liberalism: The “liberal metaphysician” expects social cooperation to be based on scientific or philosophical insight that penetrates individual idiosyncrasy and aims at the adoption of a universal, final vocabulary that then leads to solidarity. By contrast, the “liberal ironist” renounces the idea of a final vocabulary and instead assumes that only the contingent overlap between “selfish hopes” can be a source of the solidarity that grounds the commitment to liberal principles (Rorty 1989: 93). As Smith (2005) notes, Rorty does not intend to argue for unjustified hope (hope for which there is no adequate justification, although such justification is possible). Rather, he must refer to a form of hope for which the question of an ultimate justification does not arise, since it does not incorporate the idea that it is based on any such justification.

While the authors surveyed so far all agree on a positive role of hope in politics, there is also a more skeptical tradition in political thought that either questions whether hope in the standard sense is always available to political agents or argues that, at least sometimes, hope ought to be abandoned for political reasons.

One set of arguments revolves around whether the positive aspects of political hope are accessible to everyone as classic liberal accounts of hope seem to assume. Stockdale (2021) argues that many hopes of members of oppressed groups are not forms of pleasurable anticipation, but “fearful hope”, that is, hope for avoiding the worst effects of their oppression. In this sense, hope is not always something that ought to be preserved. Of course, this does not exclude more positive hopes, such as hoping for a less oppressive future. A more radical challenge to the idea that specific, objectual hopes are always available as a response to injustice is to be found in Lear’s (2006) reflections on “radical hope”. Lear considers a situation—such as that which members of the Crow nation may have faced after they were forced to live on reservations and, as a consequence, their traditional form of life became impossible—where, as a result of historical catastrophe, the vocabulary with which a group makes sense of the good collapses, and the only thing they can hope for is that a new version of a good life will become possible—a version they currently lack the words to conceptualize.

A second, skeptical argument is concerned with the objection that hope in politics might serve to encourage wishful thinking or undermine a realistic, critical evaluation of social reality (see Blöser, Huber and Moellendorf 2020 for an overview): It is often equated with optimism (see Eagleton 2015 for an argument that does not do so) and thus a naive approach to politics. It is said to disempower since hope involves seeing the outcome as dependent on factors beyond one’s control, and to misdirect our agency towards Utopian goals. As Moellendorf (2019: 154) argues, all hope imposes opportunity costs, since it precludes alternative attitudes which may be more instrumentally valuable. Political realists (such as Sleat 2013) argue that hope may be a necessary element of politics, but will by necessity go beyond that which is actually possible and thus mislead our political agency. Although these arguments draw attention to the dangers of hope in politics that have to be taken seriously, a balanced judgment must also take into account the dimensions of value discussed above. Indeed, philosophers working in the field of climate change often emphasize the instrumental value of hope in sustaining action where the attainment of the ultimate goal—managing climate change—is uncertain (McKinnon 2014, Roser 2019). Moellendorf highlights the need to develop hopeful politics when discussing climate issues (Moellendorf 2022).

A third argument finally confronts the fundamental issue of whether hope and hopefulness are always as desirable in politics as much of the preceding arguments have assumed. Warren (2015), for example, argues that the discourse and the valuation of political hope in Black American politics, serves to appropriate a theological notion of hope and uses it to enforce a “compulsory investment” of Black people’s hope in the political—although the resulting politics only prolongs and reinforces the racist structures towards the ending of which their political hope is ostensibly directed. Instead, Warren advocates for “Black nihilism”, that is, the rejection of the metaphysical and political framework in which political hope operates (see Lloyd 2018, Winters 2019 for discussion). But even Warren leaves space for “spiritual hope” as a hope for the end of political hope.

The works of Thomas Aquinas are cited according to the Corpus Thomisticum ( available online ) as follows: SsS for Scriptum super Sententiis , and ST for Summa Theologiae .

Kant’s works are cited according to the Akademie Edition (AE): Königliche Preußische (later Deutsche) Akademie der Wissenschaften (ed.), 1900–, Kants gesammelte Schriften , Berlin: Georg Reimer (later Walter De Gruyter), except for the Critique of Pure Reason . The latter is cited using the standard A- and B-edition pagination. Quoted translations of Kant are included in the list of sources below.

• Aristotle, The Nicomachean Ethics , D. Ross (transl.) and L. Brown (ed.), Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2009.
• Aspinwall, Lisa G. and Samantha L. Leaf, 2002, “In Search of the Unique Aspects of Hope: Pinning Our Hopes on Positive Emotions, Future-Oriented Thinking, Hard Times, and Other People”, Psychological Inquiry , 13 (4): 276–288.
• Aronson, Ronald, 2012, “Albert Camus”, The Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy (Spring 2012 Edition), Edward N. Zalta (ed.), URL = < https://plato.stanford.edu/archives/spr2012/entries/camus/ >.
• Augustine of Hippo, Enchiridion: On Faith, Hope, and Love , A. Outler (transl.), Grand Rapids, MI: Freebooks, 1955.
• –––, City of God (Volume VI), W.C. Greene (transl.), Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press, 1960.
• –––, City of God (Volume II), W.M. Green (transl.), Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press, 1963.
• –––, Political Writings , E.M. Atkins and R.J. Dodaro (eds.), Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2001.
• –––, City of God (Volume IV), P. Levine (transl.), Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press, 1966.
• Benton, Matthew A., 2021, “Knowledge, Hope, and Fallibilism”, Synthese , 198: 1673–89. doi: 10.1007/s11229-018-1794-8
• Bernier, Mark, 2015, The Task of Hope in Kierkegaard , Oxford: Oxford University Press. doi:10.1093/acprof:oso/9780198747888.001.0001
• Beyleveld, Deryk and Paul Ziche, 2015, “Towards a Kantian Phenomenology of Hope”, Ethical Theory and Moral Practice , 18 (5): 927–942. doi:10.1007/s10677-015-9564-x
• Bidmon, Agnes, 2016, Denkmodelle der Hoffnung in Philosophie und Literatur. Eine typologische Annäherung , Berlin/Boston: de Gruyter.
• Blöser, Claudia, 2019, “Hope as an Irreducible Concept”, Ratio , 32 (3): 205–14. doi:10.1111/rati.12236
• –––, 2020a, “Enlightenment Views of Hope”, in Steven C. van den Heuvel (ed.), Historical and Multidisciplinary Perspectives on Hope , Cham: Springer, pp. 61–76. doi:10.1007/978-3-030-46489-9_4
• –––, 2020b, “Hope in Kant”, in C. Blöser and T. Stahl (eds.), The Moral Psychology of Hope , London: Rowman & Littlefield, pp. 57–74.
• Blöser, Claudia, Jakob Huber, and Darrel Moellendorf, 2020, “Hope in political philosophy”, Philosophy Compass , 15 (5). doi:10.1111/phc3.12665
• Blöser, Claudia and Titus Stahl, 2017, “Fundamental Hope and Practical Identity”, Philosophical Papers , 46 (3): 345–71. doi: 10.1080/05568641.2017.1400918
• Bloch, Ernst, [1954–1959] 1986, The Principle of Hope , 3 volumes, N. Plaice, S. Plaice and P. Knight (transl.), Cambridge: The MIT Press, 1986.
• Bobier, Christopher, 2018, “Why Hope is not a Moral Virtue: Aquinas’s Insight”, Ratio , 31 (2): 214–232.
• –––, 2020a, “Aquinas on the Emotion of Hope: A Psychological or Theological Treatment?” American Catholic Philosophical Quarterly , 94 (3): 379–404. doi:10.5840/acpq202069204
• –––, 2020b, “The Hopeful Leviathan: Hope, Deliberation and the Commonwealth”, Archiv für Geschichte der Philosophie , 103 (3): 455–480.
• Bourke, Richard, forthcoming, “History and Normativity in Political Theory: The Case of Rawls”, in Richard Bourke and Quentin Skinner (eds.), History in the Humanities and Social Sciences , Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
• Bovens, Luc, 1999, “The Value of Hope”, Philosophy and Phenomenological Research , 59 (3): 667–681. doi:10.2307/2653787
• Calhoun, Cheshire, 2018, Doing Valuable Time: The Present, the Future, and Meaningful Living , Oxford: Oxford University Press.
• Camus, A., [1938] 1970, “Nuptials” [“Noces”], in Lyrical and Critical Essays , E. C. Kennedy (transl.), New York: Vintage Books, 63–106.
• –––, 1955, The Myth of Sisyphus and Other Essays , New York: Vintage Books.
• Caston, Ruth R. and Robert A. Kaster, 2016, Hope, Joy and Affection in the Ancient World , Oxford: Oxford University Press. doi:10.1093/acprof:oso/9780190278298.001.0001
• Chignell, Andrew, 2013, “Rational Hope, Moral Order, and the Revolution of the Will”, in Eric Watkins (ed.), Divine Order, Human Order, and the Order of Nature: Historical Perspectives , Oxford: Oxford University Press, pp. 197–218. doi:10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199934409.003.0009
• –––, 2018, “Religious Dietary Practices and Secular Food Ethics; or, How to Hope That Your Food Choices Make a Difference Even When You Reasonably Believe That They Don’t”, in Anne Barnhill, Mark Budolfson, and Tyler Doggett (eds.), The Oxford Handbook of Food Ethics , New York: Oxford University Press. doi:10.1093/oxfordhb/9780199372263.013.5
• –––, forthcoming, “The Focus Theory of Hope”, in Nancy E. Snow (ed.), Hope , Oxford: Oxford University Press.
• Cobb, Aaron D., 2015, “Hope as an Intellectual Virtue?”, The Southern Journal of Philosophy , 53 (3): 269–285. doi:10.1111/sjp.12112
• Danziger, Micha, 2020, “Kantian Theoretical Hope”, Contemporary Studies in Kantian Philosophy , 5: 1–14.
• Day, J.P., 1969, “Hope”, American Philosophical Quarterly , 6 (2): 89–102.
• Descartes, René, [1649] 1985, “The Passions of the Soul”, in J. Cottingham, R. Stoothoff, D. Murdoch (transl.), The Philosophical Writings of Descartes (Volume I), Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 325–405.
• Dewey, John, [1916] 1980, “Democracy and Education”, in Jo Ann Boydston (ed.), The Middle Works, 1899–1924 (Volume 7), Carbondale: Southern Illinois University Press.
• Dineen, Katy, 2020, “The Kantian idea of hope – Bridging the gap between our imperfection and our duty to perfect ourselves”, Educational Philosophy and Theory , 52 (2): 170–179. doi:10.1080/00131857.2019.1624525
• Dodaro, Robert, 2007, “Augustine on the Statesman and the Two Cities”, in Mark Vesey (ed.), A Companion to Augustine , Chichester: Blackwell, pp. 386–397.
• Downie, R.S., 1963, “Hope”, Philosophy and Phenomenological Research , 24 (2): 248–51. doi:10.2307/2104466
• Düring, Dascha and Marcus Düwell, 2017, “Hope, Agency, and Aesthetic Sensibility: A Response to Beyleveld ’s Account of Kantian Hope”, in P. Capps and S. Pattinson (eds.), Ethical Rationalism and the Law , Oxford: Bloomsbury, 55–71.
• Eagleton, Terry, 2015, Hope Without Optimism , New Haven: Yale University Press.
• Fishman, Stephen M. and Lucille McCarthy, 2007, John Dewey and the Practice and Philosophy of Hope , Urbana: University of Illinois Press.
• Flikschuh, Katrin, 2010, “Hope as Prudence: Practical Faith in Kant’s Political Thinking”, in Jürgen Stolzenberg and Fred Rush (eds.), Faith and Reason. International Yearbook of German Idealism (7/2009), Berlin/New York: de Gruyter, pp. 95–117.
• Frank, J., 1968, “The Role of Hope in Psychotherapy”, International Journal of Psychiatry , 5 (5): 383–395.
• Frede, Dorothea, 1985, “Rumpelstiltskin’s Pleasures: True and False Pleasures in Plato’s ‘Philebus’”, Phronesis , 30 (2): 151–80.
• Fremstedal, Roe, 2012, “Kierkegaard on the Metaphysics of Hope”, The Heythrop Journal , 53 (1): 51–60. doi:10.1111/j.1468-2265.2011.00714.x
• Gallagher, Matthew W., Johann M. D’Souza, and Angela L. Richardson, 2020, “Hope in Contemporary Psychology”, in C. Blöser and T. Stahl (eds.), The Moral Psychology of Hope , London: Rowman & Littlefield, pp. 189–207.
• Gatens, Moira, Justin Steinberg, Aurelia Armstrong, Susan James, and Martin Saar, 2021, “Spinoza: Thoughts on Hope in Our Political Present”, Contemporary Political Theory , 20 (1): 200–231.
• Godfrey, Joseph J., 1987, A Philosophy of Human Hope , Dordrecht: Martinus Nijhoff Publishers.
• Gravlee, G. Scott, 2000, “Aristotle on Hope”, Journal of the History of Philosophy , 38 (4): 461–477. doi:10.1353/hph.2005.0029
• –––, 2020. “Hope in Ancient Greek Philosophy”, in Steven C. van den Heuvel (ed.), Historical and Multidisciplinary Perspectives on Hope , Cham: Springer, pp. 3–23.
• Green, Jeremy N., 2008, Pragmatism and Social Hope: Deepening Democracy in Global Contexts , New York: Columbia University Press.
• Han-Pile, Béatrice and Robert Stern, forthcoming, “Is Hope a Secular Virtue? Hope as the Virtue of the Possible”, in Nancy E. Snow (ed.), Hope , Oxford University Press.
• Hesiod, “Works and Days”, in Glenn W. Most (ed. and trans.), Theogony. Works and Days. Testimonia , Cambridge: Harvard University Press, 2007.
• Hobbes, Thomas, [1651] 1998, Leviathan , J.C.A. Gaskin (ed.), Oxford: Oxford University Press.
• Howard, Dana S., 2019, “The Scoundrel and the Visionary: On Reasonable Hope and the Possibility of a Just Future”, Journal of Political Philosophy , 27 (3): 294–317.
• Huber, Jakob, 2019, “Defying Democratic Despair: A Kantian Account of Hope in Politics”, European Journal of Political Theory , 20 (4): 719–38. doi:10.1177/1474885119847308
• Hume, David, [1738] 2007, A Treatise of Human Nature , D.F. Norton and M.J. Norton (eds.), Oxford: Oxford University Press.
• James, William, [1897] 2015, The Will to Believe and Other Essays in Popular Philosophy , New York: Dover Publications.
• –––, 2000, Pragmatism and Other Writings , Giles B. Gunn (ed.), New York: Penguin Books.
• Jeffrey, Anne, 2020, “Hope in Christianity”, in C. Blöser and T. Stahl (eds.), The Moral Psychology of Hope , London: Rowman & Littlefield, pp. 1–12.
• Judaken, Jonathan and Robert Bernasconi (eds.), 2012, Situating Existentialism , New York: Columbia University Press.
• Kant, Immanuel, [1781] 1998, Critique of Pure Reason , P. Guyer and A.W. Wood (transl. and eds.), Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
• –––, [1785] 2006, Anthropology from a Pragmatic Point of View , R.B. Louden (transl. and ed.), Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
• –––, [1795] 2016, “Toward Perpetual Peace”, in P. Kleingeld (ed.) and D.L. Colclasure (transl.), Toward Perpetual Peace and Other Writings on Politics, Peace, and History , New Haven: Yale University Press.
• –––, [1793] 1960, Religion Within the Limits of Reason Alone , T. Greene and H. Hudson (transl.), New York: Harper & Row.
• Kierkegaard, Søren, [1847] 1995, Works of Love , H.V. Hong and E.H. Hong (transl. and eds.), Princeton/New Jersey: Princeton University Press.
• –––, [1851] 1990, For Self-Examination. Judge for Yourself , H.V. Hong and E.H. Hong (transl. and eds.), Princeton: Princeton University Press.
• –––, [1843–1844] 1990, Eighteen Upbuilding Discourses , H.V. Hong and E.H. Hong (transl. and eds.), Princeton: Princeton University Press.
• Kleingeld, Pauline, 2012, Kant and Cosmopolitanism. The Philosophical Ideal of World Citizenship , Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
• Kontos, Pavlos, 2021a, Aristotle on the Scope of Practical Reason: Spectators, Legislators, Hopes, and Evils , New York: Routledge.
• –––, 2021b, “Hoping-well: Aristotle’s phenomenology of elpis ”, British Journal for the History of Philosophy , 29 (3): 415–434.
• Koopman, Colin, 2006, “Pragmatism as a Philosophy of Hope: Emerson, James, Dewey, Rorty”, The Journal of Speculative Philosophy , 20 (2): 106–116. doi:10.1353/jsp.2006.0020
• –––, 2009, Pragmatism as Transition: Historicity and Hope in James, Dewey, and Rorty , New York: Columbia University Press.
• Kwong, Jack M. C, 2019, “What Is Hope?”, European Journal of Philosophy , 27 (1): 243–54. doi:10.1111/ejop.12391
• Lamb, Michael, 2016, “Aquinas and the Virtues of Hope: Theological and Democratic: Aquinas and the Virtues of Hope”, Journal of Religious Ethics , 44 (2): 300–332. doi:10.1111/jore.12143
• Lear, Jonathan, 2006, Radical Hope. Ethics in the Face of Cultural Devastation , Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.
• Lewis, John David, 2006, Solon the Thinker. Political Thought in Archaic Athens , London: Duckworth.
• Lippitt, John, 2015, “Learning to Hope: The Role of Hope in Fear and Trembling ”, in Daniel Conway (ed.), Kierkegaard’s Fear and Trembling: A Critical Guide , Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, pp. 122–141. doi:10.1017/CBO9781139540834.008
• Lloyd, Vincent, 2018, “‘A Moral Astigmatism’: King on Hope and Illusion”, Telos , (182): 121–138.
• Lopez, Shane J., Roseanne Ciarlelli, Lisa Coffman, Marion Stone, and Lisa Wyatt, 2000, “Diagnosing for Strengths: On Measuring Hope Building Blocks”, in C.R. Snyder (ed.). Handbook of Hope Theory, Measures and Applications , San Diego: Academic Press, pp. 57–85. doi:10.1016/B978-012654050-5/50006-3
• Magaletta, Philip R. and J.M. Oliver, 1999, “The Hope Construct, Will, and Ways: Their Relations with Self-Efficacy, Optimism, and General Well-Being”, Journal of Clinical Psychology , 55 (5): 539–551. doi:10.1002/(sici)1097-4679(199905)55:5<539::aid-jclp2>3.0.co;2-g
• Malantschuk, G. (ed.), 1978, Søren Kierkegaard’s Journals and Papers (Volume 2), Indianapolis: Indiana University Press.
• Marcel, Gabriel, [1952] 2010, Homo Viator. Introduction to the Metaphysics of Hope , L. E. Craufurd and P. Seaton (transl.), South Bend: St. Augustine’s Press, 2010.
• Martin, Adrienne M., 2013, How We Hope: A Moral Psychology , Princeton: Princeton University Press.
• –––, 2020, “Interpersonal Hope”, in C. Blöser and T. Stahl (eds.), The Moral Psychology of Hope , London: Rowman & Littlefield, pp. 229–48.
• McCormick, Miriam Schleifer, 2017, “Rational Hope”, Philosophical Explorations , 20 (1): 127–41. doi:10.1080/13869795.2017.1287298
• McDonald, William, 2014, “Hope”, in Steven M. Emmanuel, William McDonald and Jon Stewart (eds.), Kierkegaard’s Concepts. Tome III: Envy to Incognito (Kierkegaard Research: Sources, Reception and Resources, Volume 15), London: Ashgate, pp. 163–168.
• McGeer, Victoria, 2004, “The Art of Good Hope”, Annals of the American Academy of Political and Social Sciences , 592: 100–127. doi:10.1177/0002716203261781
• McKinnon, Catriona, 2014, “Climate Change: Against Despair”, Ethics and the Environment , 19 (1): 31–48. doi:10.2979/ethicsenviro.19.1.31
• Meirav, Ariel, 2009, “The Nature of Hope”, Ratio , 22 (2): 216–33. doi:10.1111/j.1467-9329.2009.00427.x
• Miceli, Maria and Cristiano Castelfranchi, 2010, “Hope: The Power of Wish and Possibility”, Theory and Psychology , 20 (2): 251–276. doi:10.1177/0959354309354393
• Milona, Michael, 2019, “Finding Hope”, Canadian Journal of Philosophy , 49 (5): 1–20. doi:10.1080/00455091.2018.1435612
• –––, 2020a, “Philosophy of Hope”, in Steven C. van den Heuvel (ed.), Historical and Multidisciplinary Perspectives on Hope , Cham: Springer, pp. 99–116.
• –––, 2020b, “Discovering the Virtue of Hope”, European Journal of Philosophy , 28 (3): 740–754. doi:10.1111/ejop.12518
• Milona, Michael and Katie Stockdale, 2018, “A Perceptual Theory of Hope”, Ergo. An Open Access Journal of Philosophy , 5 (8). doi:10.3998/ergo.12405314.0005.008
• Moellendorf, Darrel, 2006, “Hope as a political virtue”, Philosophical Papers , 35 (3): 413–433.
• –––, 2020, “Hope for Material Progress in the Age of the Anthropocene”, in C. Blöser and T. Stahl (eds.), The Moral Psychology of Hope , London: Rowman & Littlefield, pp. 1–12.
• –––, 2022, Mobilizing Hope: Climate Change and Global Poverty , Oxford, New York: Oxford University Press.
• Mueller, Andy, 2021, Beings of Thought and Action: Epistemic and Practical Rationality , Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
• Nietzsche, Friedrich, [1883–85] 2006, Thus spoke Zarathustra , Adrian del Caro and Robert B. Pippin (eds.), Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
• –––, [1887] 2006, On the Genealogy of Morality , K. Ansell-Pearson and C. Diethe (eds.), Cambridge/New York: Cambridge University Press.
• –––, [1878 & 1886] 2008, Human, All Too Human and Beyond Good and Evil , H. Zimmern and P.V. Cohn (eds.), Hertfordshire: Wordsworth Editions.
• O’Neill, Onora, 1996, “Kant on Reason and Religion”, Tanner Lectures on Human Values [ O’Neill 1996 available online ].
• Palmqvist, Carl-Johan, 2021, “Analysing Hope: The Live Possibility Account”, European Journal of Philosophy , 9: 685–698. doi: 10.1111/ejop.12584
• Pettit, Philip, 2004, “Hope and Its Place in Mind”, Annals of the American Academy of Political and Social Science , 592 (1): 152–165. doi:10.1177/0002716203261798
• Pinsent, Andrew, 2020, “Hope as a Virtue in the Middle Ages”, in Steven C. van den Heuvel (ed.), Historical and Multidisciplinary Perspectives on Hope , Cham: Springer, pp. 47–60.
• Plato, Statesman. Philebus. Ion , H.N. Fowler and W.R.M. Lamb (transl.), Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press, 1925.
• –––, 2008, Timaeus , in Plato: Timaeus and Critias , R. Waterfield (transl.), Oxford: Oxford University Press.
• Rand, Kevin L. and Jennifer S. Cheavens, 2009, “Hope Theory”, in Shane J. Lopez and C.R. Snyder (eds.), The Oxford Handbook of Positive Psychology (second edition), Oxford: Oxford University Press, pp. 323–334. doi:10.1093/oxfordhb/9780195187243.013.0030
• Ratcliffe, Matthew, 2013, “What is it to Lose Hope?”, Phenomenology and the Cognitive Sciences , 12 (4): 597–614. doi:10.1007/s11097-011-9215-1
• Rawls, John, 2003, The Law of Peoples , Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.
• Rioux, Catherine, 2021, “Hope: Conceptual and Normative Issues”, Philosophy Compass , 16 (3): e12724. doi:10.1111/phc3.12724
• Rorty, Richard, 1979, Philosophy and the Mirror of Nature , Princeton: Princeton University Press.
• –––, 1982, Consequences of Pragmatism , Minneapolis: University of Minnesota Press.
• –––, 1989, Contingency, Irony, and Solidarity , Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
• –––, 1998, Truth and Progress (Philosophical Papers: Volume 4), Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
• –––, 1999, Philosophy and Social Hope , Middlesex: Penguin Books.
• –––, 2002, “Hope and the Future”, Peace Review , 14 (2): 149–155. doi:10.1080/10402650220140166
• Rorty, Richard, Derek Nystrom, and Kent Puckett, 2002, Against Bosses, Against Oligarchies: A Conversation with Richard Rorty , Chicago: Prickly Paradigm Press.
• Rose, Sage and Nicole Sieben, 2018, “Hope Measurement”, in Matthew W. Gallagher and Shane J. Lopez (eds.), The Oxford Handbook of Hope , New York: Oxford University Press, pp. 83–92.
• Roser, Dominic, 2019, “Hoping to Achieve the Sustainable Development Goals: For and Against”, Jahrbuch Praktische Philosophie in globaler Perspektive , 3: 201–25.
• Rossi, Philip, 1982, “Kant’s Doctrine of Hope: Reason’s Interest and the Things of Faith”, New Scholasticism , 56 (2): 228–238. doi:10.5840/newscholas198256231
• Schlette, Heinz Robert, 1995, “Der Sinn der Geschichte von Morgen”. Albert Camus’ Hoffnung , Frankfurt: Joseph Knecht.
• Schopenhauer, Arthur, [1818] 2010, The World as Will and Representation (Volume I), J. Norman, A. Welchman, and C. Janaway (ed.), Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
• –––, [1818] 1958, The World as Will and Representation (Volume II), E.F.J. Payne (transl.), New York: Dover Publications.
• –––, [1840] 1915, The Basis of Morality , A.B. Bullock (transl.), London: George Allen.
• –––, [1851] 1974, Parerga and Paralipomena (Volume 2), E.F.J. Payne (transl.), Oxford: Clarendon.
• Schulz, Ortrun, 2002, Schopenhauers Kritik der Hoffnung , Frankfurt: Peter Lang.
• Segal, Gabriel and Mark Textor, 2015, “Hope as a Primitive Mental State”, Ratio , 28 (2): 207–222. doi:10.1111/rati.12088
• Seneca [Lucius Annaeus Seneca], [c.60CE] 1969, Letters from a Stoic , R. Campbell (transl.), London: Penguin.
• Shade, Patrick, 2001, Habits of Hope. A Pragmatic Theory , Nashville: Vanderbilt University Press.
• Sheehey, Bonnie, 2019, “To Bear the Past as a Living Wound: William James and the Philosophy of History”, Journal of the Philosophy of History , 13 (3): 325–342.
• Sleat, Matt, 2013, “Hope and disappointment in politics”, Contemporary Politics , 19 (2): 131–145.
• Smith, Nicholas H., 2005, “Rorty on Religion and Hope”, Inquiry , 48 (1): 76–98. doi:10.1080/00201740510015365
• Snow, Nancy E., 2013, “Hope as an Intellectual Virtue”, in Michael W. Austin (ed.), Virtues in Action. New Essays in Applied Virtue Ethics , Basingstoke: Palgrave Macmillan, pp. 153–170.
• –––, 2018, “Hope as a Democratic Civic Virtue”, Metaphilosophy , 49(3): 407–427.
• Snyder, C. R., Cheri Harris, John R. Anderson, Sharon A. Holleran, Lori M. Irving, Sandra T. Sigmon, Lauren Yoshinobu, June Gibb, Charyle Langelle, and Pat Harney, 1991, “The Will and the Ways: Development and Validation of an Individual-Differences Measure of Hope”, Journal of Personality and Social Psychology , 60 (4): 570–85. doi:10.1037/0022-3514.60.4.570
• Snyder, C.R., S.C. Sympson, F.C. Ybasco, T.F. Borders, M.A. Babyak, and R.L. Higgins, 1996, “Development and Validation of the State Hope Scale”, Journal of Personality and Social Psychology , 70 (2): 321–335.
• Snyder, C.R., Kevin L. Rand, and David R. Sigmon, 2018, “Hope theory: A member of the positive psychology family”, in Matthew W. Gallagher and Shane J. Lopez (eds.), The Oxford Handbook of Hope , New York: Oxford University Press, pp. 27–43.
• Snyder, C.R., 2002, “Hope Theory: Rainbows in the Mind”, Psychological Inquiry , 13 (4): 249–275. doi:10.1207/S15327965PLI1304_01
• Speight, C. Allen, 2021, “Kant and Benjamin on Hope, History, and the Task of Interpretation”, in Paul T. Wilford and Samuel A. Stoner (eds.), Kant and the Possibility of Progress , Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania Press, 202–216.
• Spinoza, Baruch, c. 1660, “Short Treatise on God, Man, and His Well-Being”, in Spinoza 1985: 53–156.
• –––, 1670, “Theological-Political Treatise”, in Spinoza 2002: 383–583.
• –––, 1675, “Political Treatise”, in Spinoza 2002: 676–754.
• –––, 1677, “Ethics”, in Spinoza 1985: 408–617.
• –––, 1985, The Collected Works of Spinoza (volume 1), Edwin Curley (ed. and transl.), Princeton: Princeton University Press.
• –––, 2002, Spinoza. Complete Works , M. Morgan (ed.), S. Shirley (transl.), Indianapolis: Hackett.
• Stahl, Titus, 2020, “Political Hope and Cooperative Community”, in C. Blöser and T. Stahl (eds.), The Moral Psychology of Hope , London: Rowman & Littlefield International, pp. 265–284.
• Steinberg, Justin, 2018, Spinoza’s Political Psychology: The Taming of Fortune and Fear , Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
• Stitzlein, Sarah M., 2020, “Pragmatist Hope”, in C. Blöser and T. Stahl (eds.), The Moral Psychology of Hope. Moral Psychology of the Emotions , London: Rowman & Littlefield, pp. 93–]112.
• Stockdale, Katie, 2021, Hope Under Oppression , New York: Oxford University Press.
• Stotland, Ezra, 1969, The Psychology of Hope , San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.
• Thucydides, [c. 410BCE] 2009, The Peloponnesian War , M. Hammond (transl.), Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2009.
• Treanor, Brian and Brendan Sweetman, 2016, “Gabriel (-Honoré) Marcel”, The Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy (Winter 2016 Edition), Edward N. Zalta (ed.), URL = < https://plato.stanford.edu/archives/win2016/entries/marcel/ >.
• Verdenius, William Jacob, 1985, A Commentary on Hesiod, Works and Days , Leiden: Brill.
• Vogt, Katja M., 2017, “Imagining Good Future States: Hope and Truth in Plato’s Philebus”, in Richard Seaford, John Wilkins and Matthew Wright (eds.), Selfhood and the Soul. Essays on Ancient Thought and Literature in Honour of Christopher Gill , Oxford: Oxford University Press, 33–48.
• Walker, Margaret Urban, 2006, Moral Repair: Reconstructing Moral Relations after Wrongdoing , Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
• Warren, Calvin L., 2015, “Black Nihilism and the Politics of Hope”, CR: The New Centennial Review , 15 (1): 215–248.
• Wheatley, J.M.O., 1958, “Wishing and Hoping”, Analysis , 18 (6): 121–131. doi:10.2307/3326568
• White, Patricia, 1991, “Hope, Confidence and Democracy”, Journal of Philosophy of Education , 25 (2): 203–208. doi:10.1111/j.1467-9752.1991.tb00641.x
• Winters, Joseph, 2019, “Afro-Pessimism”, in H. Paul (ed.), Critical Terms in Futures Studies , Cham: Springer International Publishing, pp. 5–11. doi:10.1007/978-3-030-28987-4_2
• Zuckert, Rachel, 2018, “Is Kantian Hope a Feeling?” in K. Sorensen and D. Williamson (eds.), Kant and the Faculty of Feeling , Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, pp. 242–59. doi:10.1017/9781316823453.014

How to cite this entry . Preview the PDF version of this entry at the Friends of the SEP Society . Look up topics and thinkers related to this entry at the Internet Philosophy Ontology Project (InPhO). Enhanced bibliography for this entry at PhilPapers , with links to its database.

[Please contact the author with suggestions.]

Aquinas, Thomas | consciousness: seventeenth-century theories of | faith | Kant, Immanuel: philosophy of religion | Kierkegaard, Søren | Marcel, Gabriel (-Honoré) | Nietzsche, Friedrich | Rorty, Richard | Schopenhauer, Arthur

Acknowledgments

Work on an earlier version of this entry was supported by the Hope and Optimism Project at Notre Dame University.

Copyright © 2022 by Claudia Bloeser < claudiabloeser @ googlemail . com > Titus Stahl < titus . stahl @ rug . nl >

• Accessibility

Support SEP

Mirror sites.

View this site from another server:

• Info about mirror sites

The Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy is copyright © 2023 by The Metaphysics Research Lab , Department of Philosophy, Stanford University

Library of Congress Catalog Data: ISSN 1095-5054