Do you believe in hope without despair?

[Anja]

Call me cynical, but I think that both of them are products of how brains of one particular species on Earth function.

Personally I think this is not cynical

No, I don't either. You are correct. This is how all brains work - by chemical reaction.

That is the scientific explanation. The OP is asking questions about the implications of that reaction.

It's not enough to simply know how something works. One must also learn how to use it correctly for their personal benefit.

 

[01011010]

Hope is a belief in a positive outcome related to events and circumstances in one's life. Hope is the feeling that what is wanted can be had or that events will turn out for the best. To hope is to wish for something with the expectation of the wish being fulfilled. -wiki

Even if trust is a component of Hope, that doesn't invalidate the definition or the fact that it's active. Trust being incorporated, even if archaic denotes it's out of current use, only further supports what hope is.

 

[AOA]

Hope doesn't need a definition... you either hope, or don't hope.

 

[NewEra]

No question. You can have hope without despair. It's hard, but you can achieve it.

 

[Anja]

I still maintain that that is "trust" or "faith."

Edit: I'll say more.

In most humans it seems that the concept of hope is strongest when one is in a tight spot. Otherwise, it sounds more like daydreaming, wishful thinking about one's future.

If you're in a sinking rowboat you'd better not only hope that you don't sink; It would serve you well to scoop water while you're hoping.

Does that help clarify what I'm saying? Like, it's foolish to sit there and hope?

 

[antireconciler]

It's comical because "hope" has two divergent uses amongst those who have replied, and in the population in general, yet many don't recognize both uses. The EXACT difference between the two is that one "hope" is DEFINED as necessarily involving despair, while the other is defined as necessarily lacking it.

>> "hope_1": certainty in love and safety, despair-free, also linked with "faith_1"

ex. a mother tells her child after a heartbreak "I know things will get better, but be patient and strong." <-- this mother is "hopeful_1" and has "faith_1" (ie. she is correct)

>> "hope_2": delusional thinking, despair-based, also linked with "faith_2"

ex. a child has terminal cancer and her mother says "I know if I pray to God and ask for my baby back she'll be delivered back to me strong and well! ... ()"

but this is ambiguous, so we have to be extra careful in how we fill the parenthesis, which mark what she implies by the statement:

... (in body): No. Bodies with terminal cancer perish. All things in this world are impermanent. This person has "hope_2" and "faith_2" (ie. she is incorrect)

... (in spirit): Yes, although she has expressed it vaguely. The love between her and her child is not lost and is returned to her in strength. This person has "hope_1" and "faith_1" (ie. she is correct)

Realistically, exactly because she has failed to discern the difference between these cases, SHE PROBABLY HAS A MIXTURE OF BOTH HOPE_1 AND HOPE_2 AND HAS FAILED TO DISCERN THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN THEM!

Not unlike many of us.

 

[Nihilen]

Do you believe in hope without despair?

I don't believe this question makes any sense.

 

[sade]

No, I don't.

 

[cascadeco]

If you're in a sinking rowboat you'd better not only hope that you don't sink; It would serve you well to scoop water while you're hoping.

Does that help clarify what I'm saying? Like, it's foolish to sit there and hope?

I get what you're saying, and I totally agree.

As to the OP, I'm afraid I can't really relate to it, so don't know how to answer it.

I don't typically just 'hope' for things. If I want them, I go for them. If there's any element on my end that I can do something about the situation, I take action. Like Anja says, there's an active element to most of what I do. Hope to me can be a misdirection of energy/focus.

But I gather in this context 'hope' is referring to when a situation is utterly out of ones' control. In that case, there may be an element of hope - in that yes, I would desire for something to turn out the way I wish it to turn out. But it's more just a detached wish. I don't bank on it. I assess the overall situation and try to see the reality of it, and prepare myself for whatever outcome there is - and reach a level of acceptance and peace with whatever outcome. Might take time, but that alleviates the despairing. And the 'hope', again, isn't something I actively focus or devote all my energy towards - just a desire in the background.

 

[BerberElla]

I think you can have hope without despair, but despair can become cynicism and destroy all hope.

I associate hope with idealism personally, in an ideal world, in my hoped for world, and for a good part of life I was nothing but hope without despair, until despair came a knocking and now I'm a cynic lol.

Just sitting down and hoping will inevitably lead to despair kids, so don't try it at home.

 

[Anja]

Yeah, reading antireconciler, cascade and BerberElla, I think it's mostly a matter of sematics what hope means to different people.

Personally I find that taking action weakens my sense of existential despair. Guess that's the point I was working to get across.

 

[entropie]

Dont know the word despair.

Do you believe in hope ?
- Yes I do !!!

 

[AOA]

I reiterate, I do.

 

[MissMurder]

My friend got a tattoo that says "hope without despair"

*giggles madly* Oh boy, that'll look dead sexy when your friend is 70.

 

[lowtech redneck]

Personally I find that taking action weakens my sense of existential despair. Guess that's the point I was working to get across.

Existential despair differs from standard despair that is caused by transitory conditions and circumstances; what type of action could directly affect existential issues such as personal mortality, free will, and the natural deaths of loved ones? At best, taking any kind of action may distract one from the contemplation of such existential issues.