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Stephen M. Fishman and Lucille McCarthy The Morality and Politics of Hope: John Dewey and Positive Psychology in Dialogue . . . the notion that every object that happens to satisfy has an equal claim with every other to be a value is like supposing that every object of perception has the same cognitive force as every other. There is no knowledge without perception, but objects perceived are known only when they are determined as consequences of connective operations. There is no value except where there is satisfaction but there have to be certain conditions fulfilled to transform a satisfaction into a value. John Dewey LW 4:214 The purpose of this essay is to encourage and contribute to a dialogue about hope among members of the field of psychology known as "positive psychology" and researchers in philosophy. After presenting a brief overview of Dewey's theory of hope, we offer a Deweyan response to programmatic statements by leaders in the positive psychology movement. Following these two opening sections, we take a close look at the theory of hope developed by C. R. Snyder, one of the major researchers in positive psychology today, and critically consider it from a Deweyan perspective. We do this, despite the fact that Dewey never, in all his voluminous writing, explicidy discusses hope. However, we believe Dewey offers enough hints about hope in his major works that we can construct a theory of hope for him.1 Overview of the Theory of Hope We Construct for Dewey Our task in constructing a theory of hope for Dewey is shaped from the beginning by Dewey's rejection of the idea of a transcendent deity. Thus, we cannot align him with one of the dominant Western responses to low-hope, a response that encourages belief in a Supreme Being. For Dewey, there is no omniscient God who insures that all good deeds will receive their due reward and that universal justice and eternal bliss are accessible to all who are worthy. Transactions of the Charles S. Peirce Society Summer, 2005, Vol. XLI, No. 3 676 Stephen M. Fishman and Lucille McCarthy This response to hopelessness is simply not available to him. Rather than a supreme being, at the heart of Dewey's theory of hope is what we call his ultimate, democratic hope: his goal of developing a more equitable, this-worldly existence that encourages all people to contribute their unique skills in service to the common-wealth. Alternatively put, Dewey's theory of hope rests upon the idea that this world, despite its precariousness and hazardous quality, is worthy of our piety and adoration rather than our scorn and disappointment. Without making light of the terrible poverty, injustice, and misfortune that many people suffer, Dewey sees these aspects of life as subject to amelioration. Further, he sees them as necessary for the evolution of the human capabilities that we most treasure and that he wants all people to be able to exercise, capabilities that often humble us as well as surprise, delight, and make reduction of suffering possible. These capabilities are our ability to use intelligence, imagination, desire, and observation to find meaning in the present moment, no matter how troubled it may be, and to share this meaning with others. Alternatively put, although our pain and suffering may seem beyond endurance, Dewey believes we have evolved into creatures who are not only capable of continually reestablishing harmony with our surroundings. We have also evolved into creatures who yearn for — whose ultimate, democratic hopes focus upon — the challenges that mine the depths of our creativity and offer a chance, if not for ourselves then for others, of a better, more just and equitable life in the future. We speculate that at the core of Dewey's remedies for people who despair about achieving their ultimate hopes would be two familiar Deweyan concepts: integration and reconstruction of the self. That is, the theory of hope we construct for Dewey rests on the view that low-hope people need to integrate their despairing experiences into their life narratives in new ways as well as reintegrate themselves with physical nature and the human community. These integrations will lead low-hope people to...

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