Abstract
This work investigates the significance of hope and develops the view that, minimally, a two-part analysis of hope is required to account for the variable appearance of this complex and multifaceted phenomenon. To this end, a distinction is made between living in hope and living in the light of hope. A set of further distinctions concerning modes of agency and the expression of values is made in the course of this analysis with respect to living in hope and living in the light of hope. It is argued that in addition to its motivational potency, hope has axiological implications that may be thought of as latent in hope, and thereby pass unnoticed, until hope is called upon in circumstances that are challenging or extraordinary in some way. Further, to account for differences in the nature of relationships between hope and a variety of other phenomena, both negative and positive, the notion of a concept ecology is introduced. The term ecology is used because the connections between the concepts in question do not have the force of logical necessity, but rather, the various concepts inhabit the same territory and thrive under the same conditions as the concept of hope, to the extent that it would be distinctly odd to find any one of them entirely isolated from each other in experience. The resulting view of hope, as a phenomenon which by its nature shows an active and judgemental approach to the world on the part of situated agents, is developed by reflections on hope across a range of limited, but diverse, contexts. As befits hope itself, this perspective on hope is offered to the reader who is invited to share it.
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© 2004 Jayne M. Waterworth
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Waterworth, J.M. (2004). Summary. In: A Philosophical Analysis of Hope. Palgrave Macmillan, London. https://doi.org/10.1057/9780230506022_7
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1057/9780230506022_7
Publisher Name: Palgrave Macmillan, London
Print ISBN: 978-1-349-50933-1
Online ISBN: 978-0-230-50602-2
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