Adrienne Martin, “How We Hope: A Moral Psychology” (Princeton UP, 2013)
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What is the central thesis of Adrienne Martin’s book *How We Hope*?
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Welcome to the New Books and Philosophy channel of the New Books Network. My name is Robert Talese. I am professor of philosophy at Vanderbilt University. I co host the channel with Carrie Figder. Carrie is associate professor of philosophy at the University of Iowa. Today My guest is Adrian Martin. We'll be talking about her new book. How we hope a moral psychology Which is newly published by Princeton University Press. Adrian is associate professor of philosophy. At the University of Pennsylvania. From political campaigns to sports stadiums and hospital rooms. The concept of hope is pervasive. And the story we tend to tell ourselves about hope is Is that it is intrinsically a good thing. In many ways, we still tend to think of hope as a kind of virtue.
Hence, we talk about hopes being dashed or crushed, and we speak as if losing hope. is an unmitigated bad. We also talk about false hope. Which is a kind of misfortune. Rather than a blemish on hope's moral ledger. But perhaps surprisingly, there's been little sustained philosophical attention paid to hope as a moral phenomenon. In her book How We Hope, Adrian Martin presents a distinctive and compelling philosophical analysis of hope. Hoping, she argues, involves the taking of one's attraction for an outcome that one judges unlikely to eventuate to supply reasons for acting in various ways. Her incorporation view of hope enables Martin to establish fascinating philosophical connections between hope, imagination, practical reasoning, and even science.
Secular faith. This is a little book that advances a lot of big ideas. So let's turn to the interview. Hello Adrian Martin.
Hi Bob.
How are you doing today?
I'm great. Thanks. How are you doing?
Oh, I'm doing fine. Uh thank you so much for joining us on New Books in Philosophy.
Well, thank you for having me. I'm really ex pleased to be here.
Well great. Uh and thank you listeners for tuning in to our discussion. of Adrian's new book, How We Hope. A moral psychology Which uh I recommend very highly. Uh this book begins with uh a very hands on practical issue. uh and then very quickly uh and expertly travels into fascinating topics in the psychology of certain moral phenomena, especially hope and some related uh states. Um It's a highly accessible book and uh really intriguing in all kinds of respects. But before we explore um the topics here, and there are many. Um, Adrian, uh please tell us a little bit about yourself in this project.
Sure, yeah. So um Uh well, I'm a moral philosopher. I'm at the University of Pennsylvania. I've been there for uh I guess I'm in my eighth year now and um I went to uh I did my PhD at UNC Chapel Hill where I worked um with both uh Tom Hill and and Jeff Sarah McCord in a sort of
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Chapters
8 chapters
1
What is the central thesis of Adrienne Martin’s book *How We Hope*?
0:00–5:59
2
How does Martin’s personal experience in clinical bioethics shape her view of hope?
5:59–11:46
3
What is the “orthodox” definition of hope and why does Martin reject it?
11:46–17:19
4
What is “hoping against hope” and how does it illustrate the limits of the orthodox view?
17:19–23:22
5
How does the incorporation analysis reconceptualise hope as a source of practical reasons?
23:22–29:25
6
What is the connection between hope and secular faith in Martin’s framework?
29:25–35:27
7
How does Martin relate moral psychology of hope to broader moral theory?
35:27–41:00
8
What is “normative hope” and what future projects does Martin plan around it?
41:00–46:35
Speakers
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