Open AccessHope and the Uncertain Future
Author(s) -
Juhani Pietarinen
Publication year - 2014
Publication title -
wisdom/imastut'yun
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.188
H-Index - 2
eISSN - 2738-2753
pISSN - 1829-3824
DOI - 10.24234/wisdom.v2i3.107
Subject(s) - vitality , optimism , feeling , power (physics) , psychology , aesthetics , epistemology , social psychology , psychoanalysis , philosophy , physics , theology , quantum mechanics
Benedict Spinoza defined hope as an inconstant joy – inconstant, because hope involves uncertainty and doubt. Hope means optimism mixed with pessimistic feelings. For Spinoza, hope amounts to an increase in our inherent active power, in our vitality or love of life, but because of being associated with fear, hope also involves something which is apt to reduce this power. Our beliefs concerning future outcomes are crucial here. They form the ultimate basis of our hope.