Hope in the Age of Anxiety

440 Pages·2009·2.33 MB·English

by  Anthony Scioli

Hope in the Age of Anxiety
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Hope in the Age of
Anxiety
ANTHONY SCIOLI, P D
H
HENRY B. BILLER, P D
H
1
2009
1
OxfordUniversityPress,Inc.,publishesworksthatfurther
OxfordUniversity’sobjectiveofexcellence
inresearch,scholarship,andeducation.
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Copyright(cid:1)2009byAnthonyScioliandHenryB.Biller
PublishedbyOxfordUniversityPress,Inc.
198MadisonAvenue,NewYork,NewYork10016
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OxfordisaregisteredtrademarkofOxfordUniversityPress
Allrightsreserved.Nopartofthispublicationmaybereproduced,
storedinaretrievalsystem,ortransmitted,inanyformorbyanymeans,
electronic,mechanical,photocopying,recording,orotherwise,
withoutthepriorpermissionofOxfordUniversityPress.
LibraryofCongressCataloging-in-PublicationData
Scioli,Anthony.
Hopeintheageofanxiety/AnthonyScioli,HenryB.Biller.
p. cm.
Includesbibliographicalreferencesandindex.
ISBN978-0-19-538035-4
1. Positivepsychology. 2. Hope. 3. Optimism. I. Biller,HenryB.
II. Title.
BF204.6.S252009
1490.5—dc22
2008055735
1 3 5 7 9 8 6 4 2
PrintedintheUnitedStatesofAmerica
onacid-freepaper
To my parents, Felice and Filomena Scioli, first-generation Italian
Americans, who have personified hope with their love of family,
mastery of rich traditions, and enduring resoluteness.
—Anthony Scioli
To my inspirational soul-mate Suzette River, who with her ‘‘PhD in
Life Experience’’ and daughter Soleil, has taught me the true
meaning of wisdom, resilience, and love.
—Henry B. Biller
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Acknowledgments
Wewouldliketoacknowledgethemanyindividualswhodirectlyorindirectlyhelped
makethisbookareality.
A.S.hadthegoodfortunetobementoredbyseveraleminentpsychologists.Atthe
UniversityofMassachusetts–Amherst,hisfirstadvisor,Dr.GeorgeLevingertaughthim
the importance of research and was the first to instill in him the hope of becoming a
professionalpsychologist.FromDr.JamesAverill,hishonorsthesisadvisor,heacquired
alifelonginterestinthestudyofemotions,adedicationtoconceptualclarification,and
a commitment to interdisciplinary scholarship. As a research assistant for the late
Dr.ShulaSommers,hedevelopedabetterunderstandingofthelinkbetweenemotions
and moral commitments. At Harvard University, the late Dr. David McClelland, his
fellowship advisor, demonstrated the importance of going beyond conscious self-
reports of emotions and motives, and the importance of intellectual courage.
Throughhis wifeandsoul-mate,Dr.EricaScioli,hehasexperienced adeeper under-
standingofhope,onebornofintegrity,love,andunflinchingresilience.
H. B. was fortunate to have had the opportunity to attend Brown University as
an undergraduate and to do his graduate work at Duke University. At both
institutions he encountered outstanding role models from a variety of academic
disciplines. Now a professor for more than four decades, he continues to be
stimulated by scores of colleagues and students. Along the way, he has also
learned a great deal about individual differences and life’s challenges from the
development of his children (Jonathan, Kenneth, Cameron, Michael, and
Benjamin) and his grandchildren (Connor, Emily, John, Sophia-Rose, Sammy,
and Danny). His close relationship with Suzette River, and her daughter
Soleil, has been especially important in furthering his life-long pursuit of greater
self-understanding and everlasting hopefulness.
A number of individuals played a vital role in securing research participants,
discussing various nuances of hope, and collaborating on empirical investigations.
They include Dr. Erica Scioli, Dr. Homer Stavely, Dr. Phil Friedman, and Drs. Erika,
Arnie, andTomAceto.Bonnie Powershelpedwiththeconstructionofaprofessional
Website.OtherswhosecommentswerehelpfulincludeLizAlexander,RichardAmaral,
viii acknowledgments
JulioApicerone,AlanBerman,BruceBerman,BenjaminBiller,HopeBiller,KaraBiller,
Patricia Biller, Sheldon Cashdan, George Carbone, Charles Collyer, Anthony Davids,
DanielDeNoon,RobertEmmons,AntoinetteFavazza,EudaFellman,LeonardFerrara,
RosemaryGianno,MikeGiles,MarvinGordon,AllanGregory,Fr.BenedictGroeschel,
Ken Hamilton, Fr. John Halloran, Lisa Harlow, John Harney, Galen Johnson, Lou
Lipsitt, Susan MacNeil, Ralph Madonna, Peter Merenda, Trish Morokoff, Natalie
Comstock Murphy, Louise Danielle Palmer, James Prochaska, Suzette River, Joseph
Rossi, Carol Susan Roth, Ed Sammartino, Bernie Siegel, Al Silverstein, Tony Stavely,
JohnStevenson,JamieToth,DomValentino,andJudyVanWyk.
Our students have also been a great help, from undertaking honors theses on the
topic of hope to data entry and bibliographic work. These include Carla Beckmann,
KaitlynChristopher,ChristineChamberlin,CourtneyDillon,ChristopherFriar,Alicia
Lambert, Tiffany Noel, Thanh Nguyen, Mike Ricci, Jessica Smith, Scott Thomas, and
Krystal Sullivan. Phil Scioli assisted in the early phases of developing the hope ques-
tionnairementionedinthisbook.Healsowasinstrumentalinhelpingwiththenotes
sectionandtrackingdownreferences.
AtOxfordUniversityPress,wewouldliketothankLoriHandelman,whounwaver-
inglysupportedthisprojectfromthestart,andeditorialassistantJennaHocutforher
efficientyetwarmadministrationofthemanydetailsinvolvedinaprojectofthisscope.
Marion Osmun did a brilliant job of editing and was an enormous help in the final
preparation of the manuscript. Karen Harmon, Preethy Micheal, Leslie Anglin, and
WoodyGilmartinwereinstrumentalintheproductionandmarketingphases.
Finally,wewouldlikeagaintothankourfamiliesandfriendsfortheirmanyyearsof
emotionalsupport,nuggetsofwisdom,andtirelessreassurance.
Contents
Introduction 3
PartOne THEROOTSOFHOPE:
UnderstandingyourHopeLegacy 9
Chapter1 RekindlingHope:HonoringtheFireWithin 11
Hope,NotDenial 13
AVirtueforAllSeasons 15
Chapter2 TheFar-FlashingBeam:PerspectivesonHope 20
HopeWithintheIndividual 21
HopefromOthers 25
AnIntegrativeTheory 29
Chapter3 PillarsofHumanity:HopeAcrossTime 39
EvolutionofHope 41
FromtheArchivesofHope 47
FromtheAnnalsofHopelessness 58
Chapter4 CulturesofHope:AbsorbingtheVirtuesofaCommunity 62
BiosocialFoundations 63
CulturalInfluences 70
CulturalClocks 71
Chapter5 ReligionsofHope:AlliesintheSky 76
HopesoftheWorld’sReligions 76
HopeastheEssenceofReligion 89
Chapter6 Faith:TheAssuranceofThingsHopedfor 93
Hope’sUnderpinning 93
HopeinTimesofDarkness 95
ActsofFaith 96
FaithMyths 103
TheHumanCondition 104
ix