from Lawrence, SATURDAY this WEEK PhiloMadrid meeting: Hope

This week's meeting is on SATURDAY 4th JANUARY 6:30pm

Dear Friends

Happy New Year everyone!!

The last time we discussed Hope was in September 2009. And like today I
did not write an essay for the meeting. Fortunately, today Ruel has sent
us a link to his essay.

So to think that we discussed Hope four and a bit years ago and we are
still meeting suggests that there is still hope for us.

But hope is a very peculiar emotion since it seems to bridge our pull to
obtain what we need and desire over our near certain knowledge that
these will never be obtained. A kind of epistemological leap to
neutralise the state of contradiction that we find ourselves in by
wanting things we know we cannot have.

This feat no doubt demonstrates the physical overbearing power of
emotions over rational thinking; even if that thinking is inductive or
intuitive thinking. But does this make hope an irrational activity? Does
this mean that when push comes to shove, the emotions rule our lives
completely?

Moreover, would we be better off to assess our possible outcomes by
applying more rational means to assess our realistic situation:
probability, induction, evidence? And maybe then desire things that can
actually be acquired? Indeed is hope for things we can actually get
qualify as hoping?

On the other hand what is it we are hoping for? Is it something to make
us feel good or better or it is something to relieve us from
desperation? We generally accept hope to be a good thing, something to
keep us going, which is all well and good when what we want is just the
latest gadget on the market. But what if what we hope for is something
we need to survive?

The issue about hoping for something related to survival in a rational
world is that this might be because the cooperative framework of our
society is becoming unravelled. Should we depend on hope when we need
help or should we expect help when we need it?

In the meantime this is Ruel's link:
Happy New Year, Lawrence!
Below is the link to what I wrote for the PhiloMadrid topic we have on
Saturday.

http://ruelfpepa.wordpress.com/2013/12/31/on-hope/
See you on Saturday.

Best,
Ruel

Finally, after being asked many times to prepare a list of the topics
that were suggested in the past, I finally got down and took some images
of the topic lists in my notes. I picked these up randomly and are from
various dates and years. Hope you can read my handwriting!!!
http://philomadrid.blogspot.com/2014/01/suggested-past-topics.html

Don't forget it is SATURDAY this weekend.

all the best

Lawrence


tel: 606081813
philomadrid@gmail.com
Blog: http://philomadrid.blogspot.com.es/
PhiloMadrid Meeting
Meet 6:30pm
Centro Segoviano
Alburquerque, 14
28010 Madrid
914457935
Metro: Bilbao
-----------Ignacio------------
Open Tertulia in English every Thursday from 19:30 to 21h at O'Donnell's
Irish Pub, c/ Barceló 1 (metro Tribunal)
http://sites.google.com/site/tertuliainenglishmadrid/
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from Lawrence, SATURDAY this WEEK PhiloMadrid meeting: Hope