Brain in a Vat Can Hope Save Your Life? | Jack Kwong
Nov 21, 2021
In this insightful discussion, philosopher Jack Kwong, known for his work on emotions and reasoning, unpacks the complexities of hope. He explores whether it's virtuous to hope amid despair, asking if such feelings can lead to reckless decisions. Jack distinguishes between hoping and hopefulness, discusses how belief and desire influence hope, and critiques the notion of false hope. He also examines the role of external factors in shaping hopeful attitudes and argues that hope can profoundly affect identity and motivation.
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Hope As Pathways And Maybes
- Hopefulness can be envisioned as seeing a pathway across a chasm between you and your desired outcome.
- Hopers keep hope alive by inventing 'maybes' that link them to possible success.
Hope Can License Action
- Adrian Martin's 'justification to act' view says hope licenses certain actions when odds, though low, are good enough relative to one's goals.
- Bess finds 1% sufficient to justify hopeful actions given what she wants from her remaining life.
Hoping vs Hopefulness
- Distinguish hoping (an activity) from hopefulness (a positive orientation). Hoping can occur without feeling hopeful, and vice versa.
- This split clarifies cases like plane emergencies or death-row inmates who still 'hope' but lack hopefulness.