The philosophy of hope and optimism and its relationship with faith

Philosophical discussions about ‘hope and optimism’ have been recorded throughout the history of philosophy across all philosophical traditions, but these topics were not paid as much attention as the topics like ‘belief and desire’. However, there were some exceptions, like Italian philosopher Thomas Aquinas (1225–1274), German Marxist philosopher Ernst Simon Bloch (1885-1977), French Philosopher Gabriel Honoré Marcel (1889-1973), etc., who acknowledged that hope is an important factor in human motivation, religious beliefs, and politics. They regarded ‘hope’ as an attitude in believing that certain action will result in a positive result. Hope is of two types, (i) a simple desire which is considered possible for which no action is needed, and (ii) a resolve to set oneself upon, pursuing a desired result, hoping that it will be accomplished. The expected result is treated as an object of hope. The words ‘hope’, and ‘optimism’ are used interchangeably by people, however, these are distinct from each other. A person can hope for a miraculous cure of his ailment, but he may not be optimistic about it as the evidence in front of him is contrary to his expectations. Therefore, it is said that hope is contrary to practical reasoning, but it works as a motivating factor for a person to involve in a hopeful activity. It is argued that hope could be rational and irrational. Similar is the case with optimism. The irrational optimism is known as ‘optimism bias’, which is fantasizing about a positive outcome by entertaining the feelings of irrational anticipation. All related issues, in this context, including the Islamic perspective of hope, have been discussed in this paper to help people to be objective in their actions and be motivated in pursuit of their goals in life.