Virtue and reality of hope examined in new book

LAWRENCE — “Hope floats.” “Hope springs eternal.” “Hope is a good breakfast but a bad supper.” The word hope may be commonplace. But what exactly is it?

“Hope occupies this interesting space between something that is certain and something that is impossible,” said Nancy Snow, professor of philosophy at the University of Kansas.

She is the editor of a new book titled “The Virtue of Hope.” This volume features 11 chapters by noted scholars from different disciplines each providing a unique perspective on this familiar but problematic concept. It’s published by Oxford University Press.

“We talk about hope with such nonchalance sometimes. When you get into the nitty-gritty of it, trying to pin down precisely what it is becomes really difficult. I think hope should be tethered to reality. This means we need to have realistic hopes; it doesn’t mean they can’t be extensive,” Snow said.

Her book is the latest addition to a 15-part series called “The Virtues.” Snow has contributed chapters to many of these installments, including ones on resilience and courage. This is the first of the series that she served as editor.

“Hope is what I call a game changer in the sense that you can take steps in the here and now to protect yourself against the vicissitudes of what might happen in the future. A simple example: The student hopes to get a good grade on the exam. ‘OK, well start studying now,’” she said.

But hope — especially regarding its achievability — remains context-dependent. 

“Winning the lottery is a completely different kind of thing from trying to survive cancer. What matters to us most plays into how we hope, how well we hope, how intensely we hope. And sometimes we say it might be reasonable to hold on to that hope, no matter if it is statistically irrational because it helps you to do what you need to do,” she said.

The chapters in “The Virtue of Hope” feature discussion and analysis focusing on classical texts, Judeo-Christian traditions, psychology and Zen Buddhism, among others. Two of the more unusual chapters include Michael Lamb’s contribution combining novelist Wendell Berry and climate change titled “Difficult Hope” and Lewis Gordon’s “A Black Existential Reflection on Hope.”

“Lewis Gordon is an African American scholar who gave a lecture at KU last year. He is skeptical about hope for African Americans. So he really has some interesting ideas about commitment ... and how sometimes hope isn’t warranted,” she said.

Many of the contributors gathered at a conference several years ago at Princeton University. Snow recalled how Princeton’s Andrew Chignell (who wrote a chapter titled “The Focus Theory of Hope”) ended up gifting her a mug embossed with the phrase “Hope might not be warranted.”

A native of East St. Louis, Snow is an expert in virtue ethics and moral psychology. She is the former director of the Institute for the Study of Human Flourishing in Oklahoma. She is currently working on a book about hope as a democratic civic virtue.

The results of the November election have given some people cause to feel hopeless. What advice does she have for them? 

“Don’t abandon hope,” Snow said. “That is an indulgence you cannot afford to do because the future of democracy depends on us. It depends on not giving up hope.”