I research hope and climate in the context of congregations as part of my work. Snyder's hope theory comes up in questions about climate communication, but is used as just one of a broader, often contradictory array of frameworks that lie behind the term "hope".
In my experience, it's important to note how much western ideas of power and agency get tied up in the term hope. Hope is often conflated with the optimism: the belief that future issues will "work themselves out". (Optimism actually decreases engagement with climate.) Hope is also often conflated with a future-focused orientation, (e.g. the ability to secure a desired future), which is based frequently on an assumption of unlimited agency to secure the future we want (something which post-colonial scholars point out is part of the colonizing mindset.)
Snyder's definition does not have to be optimistic or future-focused. A sense of agency and pathways can also be about our perceived ability to practice our values with joy and integrity regardless of external circumstances. This is also the type of hope I frequently encounter more in historically marginalized communities, for whom hope has never been able to based on a future outcome. I also hypothesize it's the type of hope that is best able to engage with the challenges we face today (e.g. climate, facism, etc.) that we may not have the power to simply "solve".
At 100 Japan scores the most Long Term Orientation oriented societies. Japanese see their life as a very short moment in the long history of mankind. From this perspective, some kind of fatalism is not strange to the Japanese. You do your best in your lifetime and that is all that you can do. The notion of the one and only almighty God is not familiar to the Japanese. People live their lives guided by virtues and practical good examples. In corporate Japan, you see long-term orientation in the constantly high rate of investment in R[&]D even in economically difficult times, higher own capital rate, priority to steady growth of market share rather than to a quarterly profit, and so on. They all serve the durability of the companies. The idea behind it is that the companies are not here to make money every quarter for the shareholders but to serve the stakeholders and society at large for many generations to come (e.g. Matsuhista).
Thanks for the explanation of Snyder’s hope theory. Another problem I see with his definition of hope is that it isn’t valid for all cultures. There are many cultures in the world where future orientation is not the predominant motivation for hope, or anything else for that matter. Why are non-future oriented cultures hopeful?
Costa Rica, Ecuador, Ethiopia, Fiji, Guatemala, Honduras, Israel, Jamaica, Kenya, Kuwait, Malawi, Namibia, Nepal, Panama, Qatar, Senegal, Sierra Leone, Sri Lanka, Surinam, Syria, United Arab Emirates.
with uncertainty and ambiguity. The fundamental issue here is how a society deals with the fact that the future can never be known: should we try to control the future or just let it happen? Long TermOrientation (LTO) Every society has to maintain some links with its own past while dealing... In order to do well in an increasingly globalised world, managers need to be able to navigate different cultural waters.
At 100 Japan scores the most Long Term Orientation oriented societies. Japanese see their life as a very short moment in the long history of mankind. From this perspective, some kind of fatalism is not strange to the Japanese. You do your best in your lifetime and that is all that you can do. The notion of the one and only almighty God is not familiar to the Japanese. People live their lives guided by virtues and practical good examples. In corporate Japan, you see long-term orientation in the constantly high rate of investment in R[&]D even in economically difficult times, higher own capital rate, priority to steady growth of market share rather than to a quarterly profit, and so on. They all serve the durability of the companies. The idea behind it is that the companies are not here to make money every quarter for the shareholders but to serve the stakeholders and society at large for many generations to come (e.g. Matsuhista).
I research hope and climate in the context of congregations as part of my work. Snyder's hope theory comes up in questions about climate communication, but is used as just one of a broader, often contradictory array of frameworks that lie behind the term "hope".
In my experience, it's important to note how much western ideas of power and agency get tied up in the term hope. Hope is often conflated with the optimism: the belief that future issues will "work themselves out". (Optimism actually decreases engagement with climate.) Hope is also often conflated with a future-focused orientation, (e.g. the ability to secure a desired future), which is based frequently on an assumption of unlimited agency to secure the future we want (something which post-colonial scholars point out is part of the colonizing mindset.)
Snyder's definition does not have to be optimistic or future-focused. A sense of agency and pathways can also be about our perceived ability to practice our values with joy and integrity regardless of external circumstances. This is also the type of hope I frequently encounter more in historically marginalized communities, for whom hope has never been able to based on a future outcome. I also hypothesize it's the type of hope that is best able to engage with the challenges we face today (e.g. climate, facism, etc.) that we may not have the power to simply "solve".
At 100 Japan scores the most Long Term Orientation oriented societies. Japanese see their life as a very short moment in the long history of mankind. From this perspective, some kind of fatalism is not strange to the Japanese. You do your best in your lifetime and that is all that you can do. The notion of the one and only almighty God is not familiar to the Japanese. People live their lives guided by virtues and practical good examples. In corporate Japan, you see long-term orientation in the constantly high rate of investment in R[&]D even in economically difficult times, higher own capital rate, priority to steady growth of market share rather than to a quarterly profit, and so on. They all serve the durability of the companies. The idea behind it is that the companies are not here to make money every quarter for the shareholders but to serve the stakeholders and society at large for many generations to come (e.g. Matsuhista).
For more on this visit cultural compass
Thanks for the explanation of Snyder’s hope theory. Another problem I see with his definition of hope is that it isn’t valid for all cultures. There are many cultures in the world where future orientation is not the predominant motivation for hope, or anything else for that matter. Why are non-future oriented cultures hopeful?
Hi Terry! Could you provide some examples of "non-future oriented" cultures?
Here you go!
Costa Rica, Ecuador, Ethiopia, Fiji, Guatemala, Honduras, Israel, Jamaica, Kenya, Kuwait, Malawi, Namibia, Nepal, Panama, Qatar, Senegal, Sierra Leone, Sri Lanka, Surinam, Syria, United Arab Emirates.
with uncertainty and ambiguity. The fundamental issue here is how a society deals with the fact that the future can never be known: should we try to control the future or just let it happen? Long TermOrientation (LTO) Every society has to maintain some links with its own past while dealing... In order to do well in an increasingly globalised world, managers need to be able to navigate different cultural waters.
From the culture factor.com
At 100 Japan scores the most Long Term Orientation oriented societies. Japanese see their life as a very short moment in the long history of mankind. From this perspective, some kind of fatalism is not strange to the Japanese. You do your best in your lifetime and that is all that you can do. The notion of the one and only almighty God is not familiar to the Japanese. People live their lives guided by virtues and practical good examples. In corporate Japan, you see long-term orientation in the constantly high rate of investment in R[&]D even in economically difficult times, higher own capital rate, priority to steady growth of market share rather than to a quarterly profit, and so on. They all serve the durability of the companies. The idea behind it is that the companies are not here to make money every quarter for the shareholders but to serve the stakeholders and society at large for many generations to come (e.g. Matsuhista).