i was alerted to this small book by the review that appeared in the late april issue of the new york review of books. its author, charles taylor, is, like jonathan lear, a philosopher, in fact one whom kw has praised on a number of occasions. incidentally, they are both connected to universities in the chicago area, so they're no doubt colleagues. at any rate, taylor's review is an eloquent introduction to the book.

there is a haunting quality to 'radical hope'. it is, first of all, the story of the devastation of a particular culture, that of the crow indians of montana about a century ago, and of a particular chief, Plenty Coup, who was able to fashion a response, which lear describes as 'radical hope'. what goes entirely unspoken is what implication this might have for us, in a world of globalization and the continued and unrelenting abuse, if not devastation, of premodern cultures.

taylor, incidentally, does make this connection towards the end of his review, but lear studiously avoids it. his objective is evidently to inquire philosophically into the very nature of this new notion of 'radical hope'. only if we can properly understand it, can we hope to fruitfully apply it to the situation presently confronting humankind, he seems to be suggesting.

as a student of aqal, i found myself crying out initially, if this could only have been put in aqal terms! its message would have been much more comprehensive, much more effective. but then i realized that, of course, its intended audience doesn't even know about aqal, for the most part. even taylor, who i imagine would have a decent understanding of the integral vision, if not specifically of aqal, couches his review in essentially the same language, or narrative, as lear.

what is this language? following a recent comment of kw, i think it is one that is attempting to go beyond the academic postmodernism of the last forty or so years. it may well be 'exiting green', green that is getting ready to pop. i say this, because i can't see how anyone who really gets this book, wouldn't, if introduced to the integral vision, say, well, of course! this is what lear was getting at, but couldn't quite see.

as much as i would enjoy laying out an aqal interpretation of this book, with mouthfuls such as tetra-enaction, i want to encourage you to read it for yourself, and to get your friends who may be ready to pop to read it, followed by 'the integral vision', say. i think that could really be a dynamite combination.

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Hi Ralph,

 

Yikes!  Here we go again; first there was Obama’s, Audacity of Hope and now Jonathan Lear's, Radical Hope. I have no problem with audacity, considering it to be the finest of all the expressions of masculinity, or with being radical in the sense of radix, i.e. getting to the root of a thing. It's the word hope that sticks in my mental craw; i have it pretty much in the same category with worry, both being movements in time, away from the present and into some longed for or feared future.

 

But when push comes to shove, ‘popping’ from one stage to another, a more likely actual trigger for transformation than hope is hopelessness. The vague diffuse notion in the common hope, from my perspective, appears as mere postponement.

 

The Taoist in me has long admired this little quote from Longfellow:

“The lowest ebb is the turn of the tide.”

 

Typically that ebb point is an acute recognition that something is just not working; but sometimes we are stubborn and we just don’t ‘get it’, in which case this aphorism is likely to apply: He who will not see will be made to feel.

 

Of course maybe it’s just the curmudgeon in me that holds that the ‘Good Ship Lollypop’ sailed a long time ago.   

 

Warmly,

 

Charles

88W18'28" 41N58'02"

 

 

 

hi charles,

as always, your reply is both cogent and illuminating--and well timed and well placed: i definitely don't want to be someone 'who will not see', and i sense i've been blind to at least some aspects of what's been going on in the i-i forums. it may well be that hope has blinded me.

it's tricky though, isn't it? one comes to hopelessness only after all hope has proven fruitless. it's in our very nature to hope. i know many a time i've attempted, compassionately but in vain, to persuade others of the hopelessness of their outlook. your timing appears to be much better than mine!

i've been asking myself for some time now why kw's integral vision makes such eminent sense to me, but not to many others, including, evidently, jonathan lear and most of his readers. the generic explanation for this is that, even if they happen to have 2nd tier consciousness, they do not have a 2nd tier center of gravity, and, in fact, generally choose to identify with green postmodernism. they are putting their hopes, as you interpret the term, in green. admittedly, my hope is that they will realize the hopelessness of this position, as i've interpreted it from an integral perspective. perhaps, my timing is again off.

with warm regards,

ralph

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I have yet to read Radical Hope, I expect I will do so very soon. That being said I trust your capacity, Ralph,  to see into the book from an integral perspective and suspect you are correct in your assessment. Particularly the observation that the cognitive vision from second tier is poking into the interpretative framework where Joathan is most comfortable.

I also agree with you Charles that the anticipation or hope of some sort of relief in the future only serves to take one's attention away from the only time where real change can occur; that is right here, right now. Indeed it is hopelessness discovered in coming to the very edge of one's limitations that may provoke the much needed leap into the abyss. However, in my oppinion, there is a genuine hope that transcends any notion of duality. It is Hope that arises from a sense of total and complete trust in Life as it is. It is more akin to a promise. For instance there is great Hope for any individual caught up in illusory hope because it is certain that it will eventually turn around and the other side of that coin will appear, hopelessness and the opportunity to surrender into a state of unknowing will present itself in undeniable terms.

With deep respect,

Jerry