“Am I Still Allowed to Hope?": The Philosophical and Educational Essence of Hope

What is the importance of “hope” within our society, as the basic element of educational commitment? At the core of this question, it is asserted that hope underpins educational theory and can potentially foster optimism within an environment laden with negativity. Toward the end of his masterpiece, The Critique of Pure Reason, Kant listed three questions to guide philosophical speculation: “What can I know? What should I do? What may I hope?" It is significant that, from Kant’s perspective, the issue of hope is one of the three questions that should guide people. This chapter will attempt to stimulate thinking about hope, and about education as an act of hope. To discuss the concept of hope, I would like to utilize the idea of responsibility toward the other and its educational significance. My arguments will conceptualize Emanuel Levinas’ ideas, and the dialogic thinking, as framed by Martin Buber, to deal with the “These times’ crisis.” This chapter discusses the importance of establishing and developing hope within the various societies which we inhabit. At the core of this discussion, it is asserted that hope underpins educational theory and can potentially foster optimism within an environment laden with negativity.