Pessimistic Hope Revisited
In the past, I’ve outlined a concept of hope that I believe is both intellectually honest and that sustains me against many critics of hope. I’ve also used that concept of hope as a primary response to the failure of intellectual analysis to demonstrate that life is now or is becoming fully meaningful. Thus, I was delighted to discover two new philosophical books that defend a concept of hope almost exactly like my own.
The first is Mara van der Lugt‘s Hopeful Pessimism. For Van der Lugt, pessimism is “a refusal to believe that progress is a given.” For example, while an optimist would say that we will probably succeed in our efforts to avoid the worst impacts of climate change, a pessimist would disagree, arguing that we are likely to fail in these efforts. But the pessimistic attitude is more conducive to action, van der Lugt maintains, since optimism often gives way to contentment that all will work out. On the contrary, the pessimist is often driven by panic to act.
But how do pessimists stay hopeful? As I have argued repeatedly, the key is that hope doesn’t entail expectation. Hopeful pessimists don’t expect things will get better, but they know that things could since the future is open. So it’s always worth it to commit to doing good and just things. In other words, hope isn’t a prognostication but a way we orient our lives. This radical hope can sustain us even in desperate situations.
Another new book, The Spirit of Hope by Byung-Chul Han, engages in what he calls a “dialectic of hope.” He sees despair as hope’s evil twin—an idea I have expressed repeatedly. While despair feels like stumbling through a pitch-black cave without knowing where you are, hopeful pessimism is like being stranded on a deserted island yet finding solace at the sight of the ocean’s deep blue.
Both of these new books also remind me of the philosopher Terry Eagleton, who began his 2015 book, Hope Without Optimism, by claiming that he was “one for whom the proverbial glass is not only half empty but almost certain to contain some foul-tasting, potentially lethal liquid.” Nonetheless, he concludes, “there is hope as long as history lacks closure. If the past was different from the present, so may the future be.”
Here is what I wrote about hope and meaning in my essay “The Ascent of Meaning” in Lewis Vaughn’s The Moral Life
In response to this ultimate uncertainty, I advocate hope. Hope that it all makes sense; that things ultimately matter; that our lives and universal life are meaningful; that our cosmic vision becomes a reality. But what do I mean by hope? As I use the term, hope does not refer to future expectations. I neither have faith that, nor am I optimistic about, the objects of my hopes being realized. Instead, hope is an attitude that spurs action.
To better understand this, contrast hope with its opposite—despair. When we despair, we no longer care; we give up because our actions seemingly do not matter. But a hopeful attitude rejects despair. It cares although it might not matter; strives against obstacles; acts in the face of the unknown. I do not know if my actions are ultimately meaningful, but I can choose to hope, care, and strive nonetheless. However, if the objects of our hopes are unattainable, then we are bound to be disappointed. That is false hope and it can be devastating. True hope, on the other hand, consists of both a belief in an outcome’s possibility and a desire for that outcome. And, since life becoming more meaningful is both possible and desirable, hoping for it is not false hope.
Thus, I would call myself a hopeful pessimist.
I’ll conclude thus. Remember the words of Aeschylus from his tragedy, Prometheus Bound. Prometheus’ two great gifts to humanity are hope and fire. Hope aids our struggle for a better future while fire, the source of technology, makes success in that struggle possible. Hope is the first gift that Aeschylus mentions.
Chorus: Did you perhaps go further than you have told us?
Prometheus – I stopped mortals from foreseeing their fate.
Chorus – What kind of cure did you discover for this sickness?
Prometheus – I established in them blind hopes.
Chorus – This is a great benefit you gave to men.
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This “hopeful pessimism shares” much with Viktor Frankl’s idea of tragic optimism. It also relates to the ideas in Michael & Caldwell’s, “The Consolations of Optimism.”
