Abstract
Our first brush with ultimate hope comes when we notice that some hopes are deeper, more important, more comprehensive, more heartfelt, than others. The comparative degree is what we notice, but the superlative degree is what is decisive for the core element in describing ultimate hope. Ultimate hope is one’s highest, one’s deepest hope. I hope for something with all my heart; my hope is for this more than anything else in the world — such is its language. Yet language may be lacking: my deepest hope may be too deep for words. Indeed it may be too deep for me even to recognize it.
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References
T.S. Eliot, “East Coker,” Four Quartets.
Sickness unto Death, pp. 200–203.
On the reasonableness of despair, see p. 147.
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© 1987 Martinus Nijhoff Publishers, Dordrecht
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Godfrey, J.J. (1987). Ultimate Hope and Fundamental Hope: Preliminary Characterization. In: Godfrey, J.J. (eds) A Philosophy of Human Hope. Studies in Philosophy and Religion, vol 9. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-009-3499-3_10
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-009-3499-3_10
Publisher Name: Springer, Dordrecht
Print ISBN: 978-90-247-3354-5
Online ISBN: 978-94-009-3499-3
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