That we can hope is one of the capacities that define us as human beings. To hope means not just to have beliefs about what will happen, but to imagine the future as potentially fulfilling some of our most important wishes. It is therefore not surprising that hope has received attention by philosophers, psychologists and by religious thinkers throughout the ages. The contributions in this volume, written by leading scholars in the philosophy of hope, gives a systematic overview over the philosophical history of hope, about contemporary debates and about the role of hope in our collective life.
Claudia Bloeser is Assistant Professor of Philosophy at the Goethe University Frankfurt. Her main areas of research are practical philosophy, especially Kant's practical philosophy and moral psychology. Her publications include Zurechnung bei Kant (2014, Berlin/New York: de Gruyter), articles in Ethical Theory and Moral Practice, Kantian Review, Philosophia, Ratio. Together with Titus Stahl, she has authored the Stanford Encylopedia article on hope (2017) and "Fundamental Hope and Practical Identity" (Philosophical Papers, 2017). Titus Stahl is Assistant Professor of Philosophy at the University of Groningen. He works on social and political philosophy, critical social theory, privacy theory and the history of political thought. He has published in Constellations, Critical Horizons, Social Theory and Practice, and Ethics and Information Technology. His book "Immanent Critique" will appear with Rowman and Littlefield in 2020. Together with Claudia Bloeser, he has authored the Stanford Encylopedia article on hope (2017) and "Fundamental Hope and Practical Identity" (Philosophical Papers, 2017).
1. Claudia Bloeser & Titus Stahl: The Moral Psychology of Hope. An Introduction Part I: Hope in the History of Philosophy 2. Douglas Cairns: Hope in archaic and classical Greek 3. Anne Jeffrey: Hope in Christianity 4. Claudia Bloeser: Hope in Kant 5. Roe Fremstedal: Kierkegaard on Hope as Essential to Selfhood 6. Sarah Stitzlein: Pragmatist Hope Part II: The Nature of Hope 7. Katie Stockdale: Emotional hope 8. Matthew Benton: Epistemological aspects of hope 9. Samantha Vice: Pessimism and the Possibility of Hope 10. Nancy E. Snow: Is Hope a Moral Virtue? 11. Matthew W. Gallagher, Johann M. D'Souza & Angela L. Richardson: Hope in Contemporary Psychology 12. Rika Dunlap: A Zen Buddhist Conception of Hope in Enlightenment Part III: Social Contexts of Hope 13. Adrienne M. Martin: Interpersonal Aspects of Hope 14. Darrel Moellendorf: Hope for Material Progress in the Age of the Anthropocene 15. Titus Stahl: Political Hope and Cooperative Community
The Moral Psychology of Hope touches on many novel themes in the contemporary scholarship on hope. It is a must-read for anyone interested in historical and religious dimensions of hope, in the philosophical analysis of what it means to hope, including its connection to the emotions, and in the role of hope within social movements. -- Luc Bovens, Professor, Department of Philosophy, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill This volume is a significant contribution to the new wave of cross-disciplinary research on hope and despair -- in philosophy, psychology, religion, political theory, and education. The focus here on hope's (alleged) capacity to sustain our moral and political resolve is especially welcome - and timely! -- Andrew Chignell, University Center for Human Values at Princeton University
