Hope:A Psychological Perspective

Hope is being able to see that there is light despite all of the darkness says Desmond Tutu. Hope has been hailed by thinkers of every age from Aristotle to Marcel. It has been endorsed by the spiritually minded as well as the most atheistic philosophers and scientists. Modern investigators have suggested there is no greater ally than hope. Unfortunately, there has been remarkably little empirical research on this topic. The present paper seeks to assess the meaning of hope, why hope is important, why do we need hope, the relationship and the difference between hope and optimism and the different theories and dimensions of the concept of hope according to different researchers.