EBOOK Hope in a Democratic Age:Philosophy, Religion, and Political Theory

How and why should hope play a key role in a twenty-first century democratic        politics?Alan Mittleman offers a philosophical exploration of the theme, contending        that a modern construction of hope as an emotion is deficient. He revives the        medieval understanding of hope as a virtue, reconstructing this in a contemporary        philosophical idiom. In this framework, hope is less a spontaneous reaction than it        is a choice against despair; a decision to live with confidence and expectation,        based on a rational assessment of possibility and a faith in the underlying goodness        of life.In cultures shaped by biblical teaching, hope is thought praiseworthy.          Mittleman explores the religious origins of the concept of hope in the Hebrew        Scriptures, New Testament, rabbinic literature and Augustine. He traces the roots of        both the praise of hope, in Jewish and Christian thought, and the criticism of hope        in Greco-Roman thought and in the tradition of philosophical pessimism. Arguing on        behalf of a straightened, sober form of hope, he relates hope-as-a-virtue to the        tasks ofdemocratic citizenship. Without diminishing the wisdom found in tragedy, a        strong argument emerges in favour of hope as a way of taking responsibility for the        world. Drawing on insights from scriptural and classical texts, philosophers, and        theologians - ancient and modern, Mittleman builds a compellingcase for placing hope        at the centre of democratic political systems.