About Hope
Hope is one of the first mental constructs we develop as infants and remains with us until we draw our last breaths. Many hope scholars consider hope as an existential human need, like water, food, and sleep. Yet, hope can also lead us astray or leave us in desperation when our hoped-for goals are crushed.
As I began to write and talk about hope, I noticed that many people share my fascination with this fuzzy concept. Indeed, hope is relevant to us all, especially in times of uncertainty, hardship, and crisis. In fact, hope shines its brightest light when it is most challenged.
The more I looked into hope, the more I became enchanted by it. The more I discovered, the more it became apparent that the study of hope and its optimal use in our lives is something we should all be thinking about.
Several years ago, I introduced the Bidimensional Model of Hope as a tool for measuring hope and investigating its correlates. To my surprise, the Bidimensional Model has also made it easier to understand what hope is and how we can use it better in everyday life.
Hope Amidst Conflict
Winner of the 2025 David O. Sears Best Book Award
A book from Oxford University Press
“The question of hope lies at the center of one of the biggest dilemmas of human survival. What should we accept, and what should we hope to transform?” These are the first sentences of my book that fuses philosophical and psychological insights on hope and how it functions when it is most challenged.
This persuasive book offers an invaluable contribution to our understanding of what constitutes hope and how it can transform conflict."
Prof. Oded Haklai, Queen’s University
Hope for Life on Our Planet
Inspiration for Seven Generations
In this special compilation, I join more than 60 inspiring people, including Pope Francis, Nick Cave, Jane Goodall, and others who ponder and contemplate the role of hope in our lives. My own contribution exploring how we can effectively use hope to transform the bitter reality of war.
"HOPE FOR LIFE ON OUR PLANET offers an illuminated pathway forward to a brighter perspective-and out of the collective failure of imagination and courage that currently plagues global society and the planet."
Lyndsay Howard, Senior Advisor for Foreign Policy to Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg