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Is hope realistic?

What is the secular justification for hope, in the face of existential angst?

skado 9 Oct 28
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72 comments (26 - 50)

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3

Hope can give one the drive to do more. The inspiration to persevere. The comfort to endure more. And the humility to focus on the effort, instead of the result. But it's not the hope that provides it, it's the perception of a positive outcome that gives solace, and we call it hope. Change the way you look at the future, give yourself hope. Just a thought :/

3

I don't see a problem with hope, but it manifests itself very differently without a magic daddy involved. I hope for some things to happen and I recognize that the future is unknown. And at some point I may choose to give up hope for any specific outcome, and that is up to me.

3

Hope is neither realistic nor unrealistic, but if it helps keep you optimistic and motivated, it may increase your chances of solving the problems at hand.

3

I prefer doing to hoping. But I guess hope for a preferred outcome may motivate one into doing what is necessary to reach the goal. Hope without follow up is just folly.

Cinco Level 5 Oct 29, 2019
3

There is no religious hope just as there isn't a secular hope, hope results from cherishing and or desiring for something to happen. Now stop worrying about existing, angst happens to those who obsess, bitch and dread about things they can't control. Snap out of it!

@OwlInASack that's in a nutshell what I've said, isn't it? Angst is a sure way to take you to the grave sooner than needed because you can't control any of those things happening around you. Ergo, if you live your life doing things to leave this planet better than the way you received it, things you can control, the better life will be for you.

@OwlInASack A very old adage my friend goes something like this, " Worry over the things YOU can change and strive with ALL your might to make them change, Worry NOT about the things beyond your abilities and strengths, etc, for they WILL only cause you more grief than you need."

@OwlInASack I think we all do that from time to time, don't we, I know it happens to me now and again.
But I've kind of taught myself that worrying over things never does anything much more than robbing one of sleep and peace of mind so better to wait until daylight and look at it from a better aspect.

@OwlInASack I usually that sort of thing by adding the numbers from 1 upwards ( 1+1 =2, 2+2=4, etc, etc and so on) until I fall asleep again, somehow I never seem to any higher than adding to about 20 or 30 though.

@OwlInASack those you can't control, why worry? Those you can, do something about it.

@OwlInASack you mean that's not how YOUR brain works, who made you the poster child of how human brains work?

@OwlInASack figurrs, ignorant to the end.

@OwlInASack i thought it was loki, now bugger off you wanker

3

I think people lose hope these days because they internalize too much of the noise that is going on around them. It is easy to start to feel hopeless when you need to solve poverty, politics, homelessness and ignorance first. I am not saying don't engage with the world, but I think it is important to let it go and let yourself enjoy the parts of life that you can enjoy. I think that helps build a more hopeful outlook.

3

I'd say hope is the filler for the human mind when it comes to uncertainty, that a being cannot or chooses not to control by means of actions. Mostly, I'd say hope has been instrumental in providing motivation for action in the future, so it does serve a purpose.

3

as the wise man said: hope in one hand and shit in the other and see which fills first

my mother used to tell me to spit in one and wish in the other whenever i wanted something.

3

In my very young and inexperienced opinion, in the grand scheme of things it's as mute as a toot. A flash in the pan, strike of lighting, or your last breath. But in a present tense, I would say Hope is like a wish. A wish to make an idea or ideal tangible. It's a longing for what might be. And in that regard it could be either a carrot on a stick or a flame under your ass. Either way the only gut reaction is to move. I might sound negative, I'm just a realist and it might really seem negative unless you keep your perspective on the right thing. So in a positive light I feel like hope can be a struck match giving you a small piece of light in a endless void of darkness. It may give you warth, but I believe it alone won't sustain you.

3

It depends on the situation and what one is hoping for.

3

I've never really seen the purpose. It's like praying to me, if you don't follow it up with some kind of action, whatever the "hoped for" end is left up to chance. It might still happen, but it won't be just because someone "hoped" for it.

3

In any given situation there are probabilities and one could be more prepared for the more likely scenario of each. Thus, you can sometimes prepare some (like hope) for a better scenario.

3

Where would you be without it.

@OwlInASack I reject that view utterly & completely! I have had a damned tough life by any standard, but always have looked for better days ahead!

@OwlInASack for the perpetuation of the species otherwise we would cease to exist.

@OwlInASack I was thinking more about the conditioned part. Sort of biologically wired for hope so as to perpetuate the species. Not realistic but then so many things about humans are not.

2

Yes! I hope my son, a crystal meth addict, can stay straight and clean.

2

When a bear shits in the woods, does it make the trees happy?

2

Hope does not affect the outcome but it makes people feel good. Perhaps if we hope we get a better outcome since we are in a better mental state and we make it happen

2

This is an unnecessary deep thought.

Hope is hope. It is not even close to reality in meaning. Hope based on a realistic or pragmatic assessment of a situation can be sound. Anything else is a fool's game.

Plan for the worst and hope for the best.

@Norman347 In some way or another don't we ALL do exactly that from time to time?

2

Depends on the object of hope.

zesty Level 7 Oct 29, 2019
2

According to Marvin it's totally hopeless

2

Hope is used in the context of wishing for something to happen for things or states of affairs to be other than what they are in any given moment. I wonder to what extent hope acts as buffer against the uncertainties that occur in life in terms of unknown future outcomes. If we feel uneasy, fear or dread about particular outcome then we hope that it will be different.

2

As I heard in the army, "hope is not a course of action" which I took to mean you must do all you can to accomplish your mission and leave nothing to chance

2

Hope means joyful expectation. If you expect something that you are joyful about waiting to receive it, then you have a hope.

Word Level 8 Oct 28, 2019
2

no. neither is luck. but chaos prevails & some ppl are lucky.

2

Hope for what? I hope the human population is reduced to about half-current over a period of time that provides the least suffering, fewer alive each year toward the result by the end of the century. when millions of coastal acres will be underwater.

Lovelock postulated 10% of current by 2100. Although he has modified his thinking, I agree with him.

yep, according to the UN report in 1989 there was going to be severe coastal flooding this year.
for ppl, who are going to freak out about something, i suppose the global warming myth fits the bill.

@callmedubious So are you saying that the earth is not warming and that sea levels are not rising? Is it your claim that incorrect results in a study done in 1989 makes all the evidence that exists today pointing to the fact that climate has changed and is negatively affecting millions of people moot?

What exactly is "mythical" about the global warming that is measurably happening now?

@redbai ,
if you're really interested in the other view there's lots of info on-line.

@callmedubious Why does that line remind me of folks telling me to look into the bible for proof of their god?

@callmedubious The world is warming. But it is not all human's doing. Does not mean we are not in deep, deep , doo.

2

There need not be any existential angst. There is existential ecstasy, which is our most natural and default state.

That angst occurs when we build up a stressful story or world view in our subconscious minds through the thinking of untrue thoughts. We worry ourselves to death through fear of what might happen. If a person really doesn’t know what’s going to happen they really ought not speculate. The subconscious doesn’t know the difference in truth and speculation.

We are consciously aware of our existence, but we don’t understand it. Might as well just enjoy every moment.

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