The Philosophy of Hope Thanks all for the great feedback. Based on it I have come up with two revised versions, a maximalist one and a minimalist one.
Maximalist Version
1. The concept of hope is an appropriate starting point for philosophy
2. Hope consists of a desire for an outcome and a belief in the outcome’s possibility
3. The best thing to hope for is a Universe that everyone would want most
5. The Universe that everyone would want most is Utopia
6. Hoping for Utopia entails striving for Utopia
7. Striving for Utopia provides grounds for assessing appropriate actions, beliefs and theories
8. In deciding what actions to take to realise Utopia, theoretical analysis, speculation and interpretation are essential
9. However, the objective of analysis is not to provide an indubitable foundation for knowledge or action
10. Rather, the objective of analysis is to provide a reasonable basis for actions, the efficacy of which is assessed by their effects on the progression towards Utopia
11. The point is not to interpret the world, but to change it.
Minimalist Version
1. The concept of hope is an appropriate starting point for philosophy
2. Hope consists of a desire for an outcome and a belief in the outcome’s possibility
3. Things can get better or they can get worse
4. It is best to hope for things to get better
5.Hoping for things to get better entails striving to make things better
6. Striving to make things better provides grounds for assessing appropriate actions, beliefs and theories
7. In deciding what actions to take to make things better, theoretical analysis, speculation and interpretation are essential
8. However, the objective of analysis is not to provide an indubitable foundation for knowledge or action
9. Rather, the objective of analysis is to provide a reasonable basis for actions, the efficacy of which is assessed by their effects on whether things get better
10. The point is not to interpret the world, but to change it.