Historical and Multidisciplinary Perspectives on Hope

Download or read book Historical and Multidisciplinary Perspectives on Hope written by Steven C. van den Heuvel and published by Springer Nature. This book was released on 2020-07-20 with total page 272 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This open access volume makes an important contribution to the ongoing research on hope theory by combining insights from both its long history and its increasing multi-disciplinarity. In the first part, it recognizes the importance of the centuries-old reflection on hope by offering historical perspectives and tracing it back to ancient Greek philosophy. At the same time, it provides novel perspectives on often-overlooked historical theories and developments and challenges established views. The second part of the volume documents the state of the art of current research in hope across eight disciplines, which are philosophy, theology, psychology, economy, sociology, health studies, ecology, and development studies. Taken together, this volume provides an integrated view on hope as a multi-faced phenomenon. It contributes to the further understanding of hope as an essential human capacity, with the possibility of transforming our human societies.