tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5262267092467942583.post3228853863024127196..comments2023-06-16T09:06:01.095-05:00Comments on Self-Referential Collapse: The Value of DespairBP Mortonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15531863521357661468noreply@blogger.comBlogger5125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5262267092467942583.post-54017839281963933312021-09-28T19:47:34.901-05:002021-09-28T19:47:34.901-05:00Very well said. Very well said. Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16285138882201636915noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5262267092467942583.post-11969190096709771462015-06-26T16:16:40.728-05:002015-06-26T16:16:40.728-05:00Love your take on this. I agree with much/most of ...Love your take on this. I agree with much/most of it. And love the metaphor of the "gloomy ally!" Beautiful. Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14796295995673944404noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5262267092467942583.post-24036764287984491662009-04-25T17:27:00.000-05:002009-04-25T17:27:00.000-05:00I looked up dictionary definitions of despair and ...I looked up dictionary definitions of despair and some said "to lose all hope" and others just said "to lose hope" (or "to give up, to be despondent, to be dejected.") Certainly the etymology is from the Latin desperare, which means to give up hope but not necessarily to give up all hope. The site I checked also pointed out that we frequently use it in the sense of "to lose hope of something specific" as in "I despair of every teaching my son to mind his manners." I suspect we just use the word both ways, sometimes to indicate giving up all hopes, and other times to indicate just giving up some of our hopes.<br /><br />If you think despair means "giving up all hope" well that's a bad thing I agree.<br /><br />But if despair just means "giving up hope" well that CAN be a good thing. That's my point. <br /><br />Perhaps we simply need terminology that can make the distinction better. Maybe despair vs hopelessness, or proper despair vs total despair, or specific despair vs general despair.Brian M.http://selfreferentialcollapse.blogspot.com/noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5262267092467942583.post-72598191306327925862009-04-24T21:22:00.000-05:002009-04-24T21:22:00.000-05:00To despair is to be without hope. Hope being in ex...To despair is to be without hope. Hope being in expectation of something, looking forward to something, and is related to 'to hop'.<br /><br />If we are not 'leaping in expectation' of what is to come, if we are not wishing and desiring, then I can see how we are more open to possibilities. Makes sense to me.<br /><br />Thanks for the article.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5262267092467942583.post-38809514584479790602009-04-24T17:48:00.000-05:002009-04-24T17:48:00.000-05:00Such a Pollyanna! :-)
It's all nice- but I great...Such a Pollyanna! :-)<br /><br />It's all nice- but I greatly fear you have simply abandoned the generally accepted understanding of despair, which is something like: "the complete loss of all hope."<br /><br />You're replacing that with: "If you're thinking about losing all hope; don't."<br /><br />Good advice; but- not actually making true despair into a virtue.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com