Alessandra Tanesini November 2019 What is hope Hope

Alessandra Tanesini November 2019

§ What is hope § Hope as an enabler of trust THE PLAN § Hope as scaffolding and as being scaffolded § Hope as a virtue of activism § Hope as a scaffold of civic associations § Civic associations as a scaffold for hope

§ Hope is a complex “syndrome” (Walker, HOPE AS A SYNDROM 2006) § It comprises at least § Belief that an end is, as far as we know, possible § Desire that the end comes to pass § Action tendencies including imagining, planning, inquiring and acting in ways that facilitate the actualisation of desired outcome § Positive feelings of anticipation, elation (including imagining experiencing joy, relief or pride in the achievement of the desired end) and optimism

§ Hope entails § An acknowledgment that one has limitations HOPE AND LIMITATION S since one cannot secure the desired outcome § A sense of efficacy of one’s own agency in making the outcome more likely § Obj: Hope to be rescued. § R: One acts and plan to make the rescue more likely § Hope then involves an optimistic attitude to one’s own limitations § Hope is the motivational state that prevents humility from leading to despair. § It supplies humility with the motivation to overcome obstacles

§ The action tendencies of hope (imagining, planning, seeking options, executing plans) fortify agency by supplying motivational force and organising structure. HOPE AND AGENCY § Hope makes our agency more efficacious and it is therefore self-empowering (Mc. Geer 2008). § Hope expands § our efficacy when acting on the world § our capabilities when acting on our current capacities and their limitations (Mc. Geer, 2008)

§ Hope has, within limits, self-fulfilling power. HOPE, VIRTUE AND REASON Hoping for p (as opposed to mere wishing for it) can make p more likely. § Hope is thus prudentially valuable irrespective of evidence (Walker 2006, Mc. Geer 2008) § Hope is a virtue or the motivational energy of virtues. § Hope is a capital virtue because it promotes trust, perseverance, openmindedness, generosity, forgiveness.

§ Hope can be directed to others. § We can hope for them § We can hope that they act in some ways HOPE AND TRUST IN OTHERS § This second kind of hope involves an optimistic attitude to others’ limitations § Hope is often required to trust others § Normative trust is not the same as reliance § Normative trust is compatible with some evidence of unreliability or lack of good will. § Trust without belief is made possible by hope

§ Hopeful attitudes to others contribute to expanding HOPE SCAFFOLDI NG OTHERS’ AGENCY § § the efficacy of their agency and expanding their capabilities. Hopeful attitudes empower those to whom we direct our hopes (Mc. Geer 2008) Hope enables trust, and trust expands the range of activities others can engage in (e. g. , trusted teenager learns from being out at night) Hope is transmitted by contagion so that the trusted can be more hopeful of her ability to make herself more deserving of trust. These outcomes are empowering because they increase what the trusted person becomes able to do including increased § Efficacy when acting on the world § Efficacy in self-regulation (through being hopeful) § Capabilities though acting on current capacities and their limitations.

HOPE AS A SCAFFOLD IN INTERPERS ONAL RELATIONS § Hopeful trust is a scaffold of others’ agency § A scaffold is a person, artifact, or environment that changes a person’s ability to carry out some activity. § It makes some activities possible that were otherwise impossible. § It makes it possible to carry out the activity in new easier ways (rather than previous burdened ways). § Hope and trust by empowering increase capability and thus makes new activities possible and old activities less burdensome.

§ Hope is not wholly self-generated § Hope is encouraged, promoted, scaffolded by others, by artefacts, and by environments § Children’s acquisition of an hopeful attitude is SCAFFOLD ED HOPE scaffolded by adults’ hopeful attitudes toward them § Adults sustain hope by responding to others’ hopeful attitudes to them § Adults sustain hope by relying on spiritual practices (e. g. , praying or reading poetry) and exposing themselves to artefacts that stimulate imagining and planning for hoped outcomes (e. g. travel books) § Some environments are hope-inspiring, e. g. , churches , some civic buildings, some art.

THE PLACE OF HOPE IN INDIVIDUAL PSYCHOLO GY § Hope is central as motivational energy § Hope can be easily lost and it can be killed § To be sustained it needs to be scaffolded § Few are able to sustain hope in extreme situations those who do scaffold it for themselves through praying, singing, reciting poetry

CIVIC SOCIETY AND CIVIC ASSOCIATI ONS § Civic society is distinct from the state and the economy and is made up of voluntary and community associations and other entities belonging to the so called third sector (charities, book clubs, sports teams, NGO). § Activist groups and other organisations working on behalf of subordinated and discriminated groups are important civic associations. § Community activism is an important civic role with distinctive traits that contribute to it being done well (effect-virtue)

§ Hope (as well as anger) is particularly suited as a virtue of the community activist § Its motivational power is directed at overcoming HOPE AS A VIRTUE OF ACTIVISM obstacles § It is empowering making one both more capable and more impacful. § It involves opening up possibilities and planning for their realisation § It scaffolds hope in others, § Thus making them better activists § Thus creating ties through shared hopes

§ Shared hopes are hopes for some people (singly or SHARED HOPE AS A SCAFFOLD FOR CIVIC ASSOCIATI ONS collectively) qua members of a group rather than as individuals § Shared hopes (to actualise some end) are ties that can bind individuals together into civic associations and activist communities. § Shared hopes make communities become more § cohesive because one shares plans, and feelings of anticipation § impactful because it enables joint action and makes the group more resilient, etc (cf Snow 2019) § capable of improvement through increased communication and planning. § Shared hopes empower communities through a dynamic process of mutual scaffolding taking place among the members who might join the association with very different hopes from each others.

CIVIC ASSOCIATI ONS AS SCAFFOLDI NG HOPE § Civic associations also scaffold the hopes of their members. § They make hope possible in the face of obstacles § They also objectively make obstacles easier to overcome through joint action § Virtuous circle: individual hopes become shared hopes which fortify individual hopes.