I’m gonna take a stab at answering your questions.
But first, I think the interpretation of the sentence you quoted (represented in your question) differs from what I intended when I mentioned that "hope’s remarkable attributes lie in its ability to instill belief."
What I meant here is that belief encompasses the idea that things can materialize, that there exists a possibility for them to unfold as we desire. Vis-à-vis this point, if we had not believed that a vaccine for SARS-CoV-2 was attainable, for example, we might never have reached this point. In this context, belief emerges as a natural byproduct of hope. It’s similar to, say, “Where there’s a will/hope, there’s a way” kind of thinking.
However, the belief in your question leads me to contemplate presuppositions and personal convictions, which undeniably shape how we perceive hope, embrace it, or even let it go. When someone consistently hopes for a specific outcome that fails to materialize, they may find themselves in the doldrums. Their beliefs can then profoundly influence their future interactions with hope. It’s not because hope is the bad guy here, but maybe because they lacked a reality check (which is a function of hope), or perhaps they conflated hope with optimism or absolute certainty.
In Kantian philosophy, hope precedes belief, specifically in the context of moral faith. In many religions, hope may have different names/meanings. But they are mostly rooted in religious beliefs and closely tied to faith. So, that certainly influences how a person chooses to interact with hope. Also, it’s similar to what Rabindranath Tagore said: “Faith is the bird that feels the light and sings when the dawn is still dark.” Well, faith and hope here are married to each other.
Loved chatting about books with you last night & bookmarked this for my morning coffee - a great read! Thanks for sending me into my day ahead full of hope <3
Dear Razan,
"One of hope’s remarkable attributes lies in its ability to instill belief, and we need to believe to effect meaningful change."
Thank you for this smart and thoughtful post.
Curious how you feel about these two questions:
- What role do you feel the depth of one's belief plays?
- What role do you feel faith plays here?
Humbly,
Rodrigo
Hey Rodrigo,
I’m gonna take a stab at answering your questions.
But first, I think the interpretation of the sentence you quoted (represented in your question) differs from what I intended when I mentioned that "hope’s remarkable attributes lie in its ability to instill belief."
What I meant here is that belief encompasses the idea that things can materialize, that there exists a possibility for them to unfold as we desire. Vis-à-vis this point, if we had not believed that a vaccine for SARS-CoV-2 was attainable, for example, we might never have reached this point. In this context, belief emerges as a natural byproduct of hope. It’s similar to, say, “Where there’s a will/hope, there’s a way” kind of thinking.
However, the belief in your question leads me to contemplate presuppositions and personal convictions, which undeniably shape how we perceive hope, embrace it, or even let it go. When someone consistently hopes for a specific outcome that fails to materialize, they may find themselves in the doldrums. Their beliefs can then profoundly influence their future interactions with hope. It’s not because hope is the bad guy here, but maybe because they lacked a reality check (which is a function of hope), or perhaps they conflated hope with optimism or absolute certainty.
In Kantian philosophy, hope precedes belief, specifically in the context of moral faith. In many religions, hope may have different names/meanings. But they are mostly rooted in religious beliefs and closely tied to faith. So, that certainly influences how a person chooses to interact with hope. Also, it’s similar to what Rabindranath Tagore said: “Faith is the bird that feels the light and sings when the dawn is still dark.” Well, faith and hope here are married to each other.
Thanks for these wonderful questions!
Best,
Razan
Dear Razan,
Thank you for your thoughtful and beautiful response.
With admiration,
Rodrigo
Loved chatting about books with you last night & bookmarked this for my morning coffee - a great read! Thanks for sending me into my day ahead full of hope <3