74. Hope as First of the Irascible Passions

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Lecture Notes

Main Topics #

• Hope as Primary Irascible Passion: Thomas argues that hope (spes), not anger, is the first among passions of the irascible appetite, despite the irascible power being named from anger (ira)
• Good Before Bad: The fundamental principle that passions tending toward the good are naturally prior to passions tending toward the bad
• Order of the Irascible Passions: The complete ordering from first to last: hope and despair; fear and boldness; anger
• Connection to Concupiscible: Parallel with love being first of concupiscible; shows systematic ordering across appetitive powers
• Pedagogical Point: Emphasis on reading Thomas to understand Aristotle, and the importance of foundational philosophical knowledge

Key Arguments #

Why Hope is First (Against the Objection that Anger is First) #

• The irascible power is named from anger because anger is an effect of other passions and thus more manifest to us
• Naming follows from what is most potent and manifest, not necessarily what is first by nature
• Hope as motion toward good: Hope is a motion toward the good according to the very notion of the good, which is attractive per se (by itself)
• Despair as accidental: Despair is a recoiling from the good, which belongs to the good only per accidens (accidentally/incidentally), not per se
• Since the good is naturally prior, hope (motion toward good) is naturally prior to despair

Proportional Ordering of Fear and Boldness #

• Fear (receding from bad) is naturally prior to boldness (pursuing/overcoming bad)
• The bad is naturally repulsive, so recoiling from it is more natural than approaching it
• Boldness requires overcoming an arduous difficulty; fear is the more fundamental response
• Example: On a battlefield, fear is more natural than boldness for most people

The Good as Reason for Avoiding the Bad #

• Desire for the good is the fundamental reason why one avoids the bad
• Two teams pursue victory (good) and thus also avoid defeat (bad)
• Hope of victory causes boldness; despair of victory causes fear
• Anger arises upon boldness when one is able to vindicate oneself

Important Definitions #

Hope (Spes) #

• A motion toward an arduous good; presupposes that the good is achievable but difficult
• Differs from desire in that it concerns something difficult to obtain
• Naturally prior to despair because it tends toward the good per se

Despair (Desperatio) #

• A recoiling from an arduous good thought to be unattainable
• Belongs to the good only per accidens (not as good, but as difficult or impossible)
• Naturally posterior to hope

Boldness (Audacia) #

• Motion toward the bad (difficulty/evil) with confidence in overcoming it
• Requires hope as a foundation (hope of victory enables boldness)
• Naturally posterior to fear

Fear (Timor) #

• Recoiling from an arduous evil/bad
• A natural response to difficulty in avoiding harm
• Naturally prior to boldness because the bad is naturally repulsive

Examples & Illustrations #

• Football Example: Running with the ball toward a small defender (easy - boldness) versus a large, heavy defender (more difficult - would have second thoughts). Playing tackle football with determination to stop big guys running through center despite others fleeing
• Boxing and Shoulder Dislocation: Reference to Golden Glove boxers; friend Jim Frantzak; anecdote about brother-in-law dislocating shoulder at first football practice, ending his football career
• Fable of the Fox: Fox jumping for grapes, finding them difficult but good. After repeated failure, says “I’d prefer them sour anyway.” Contrasted with man who cannot obtain a woman he desires and similarly dismisses her as spoiled. More natural to pursue the good than to abandon it
• Washington’s Biography: Observation that bravery is praised but note that soldiers may fight from duty rather than boldness; the wounded from the back (indicating flight) is shameful; comparison to Shakespeare’s Macbeth
• Political Fear: A politician must “run scared” - fear functioning as motivation, though not necessarily a good life

Notable Quotes #

“The passion whose object is the good, to wit, hope and despair are naturally before the passion whose object is the bad, right? That’s the thing you talked about before, right? That love, desire, and joy are naturally before hate and aversion and sadness, yeah, because the good is before naturally the bad.”

“If you didn’t love happiness, you wouldn’t hate misery, would you?”

“It’s more natural to pursue the good, right? Than to give up the good, right? So the good is more per se. Hope is more per se. Despair is kind of a gratitude” [Note: appears to mean “deprivation”]

“Fear makes him take counsel, right? It’s not too severe. A politician has to run scared, you see? Not a very good life, you can think of it.”

Questions Addressed #

Article 3: Is Hope the First Among the Passions of the Irascible? #

Objection 1: The irascible power is named from anger (ira), and things are named from the more potent one (denominatio a potiori), so anger should be prior

Resolution: Anger is prior in manifestness and potency as an effect, but hope is prior by nature. Things are named from what is most known/manifest to us, not necessarily from what is first in nature. Anger is caused by other passions and is thus more noticeable.

Objection 2: The arduous (difficult evil) is what characterizes the irascible; boldness and fear concern the arduous; so these should be prior to hope and despair

Resolution: The arduous is not the reason for approaching or desiring something; rather, the fundamental object is the good. Hope directly regards the good and is thus prior, even though boldness sometimes concerns something more arduous.

Objection 3: [Implied from structure] Pleasure causes some passions; desire might be prior?

Resolution: Desire is first moved toward the good as its proper object, and from this it recedes from the bad. The emotion of the appetitive part is proportioned to the intention of nature, which intends the end first, then the means to avoid the contrary.

Complete Ordering of All Passions (By Generation/Nature) #

1. Love and hate (or weaker: liking and disliking)
2. Desire and aversion/flight from them
3. Hope and despair
4. Fear and boldness
5. Anger
6. Joy and sadness (follow upon all others, as Aristotle says)

Note on Priority: Love is before hate; desire before flight; hope before despair; fear before boldness; joy before sadness - in each case the passion toward the good is prior to its contrary toward the bad.

Methodological Notes #

• Importance of Reading Authorities: Berquist emphasizes the value of studying Thomas to understand Aristotle, drawing on his teachers De Kahnick and Dion
• Natural Philosophy as Foundation: Knowledge from Physics (e.g., “whatever moves is composed”) is necessary for understanding later arguments (e.g., about God’s immutability and simplicity)
• Protecting Against Error: Reading Thomas exposes one to more objections than one would encounter alone, thus preparing the mind
• On Avicenna: Thomas often corrects Avicenna but also uses many of his insights; Muslims regard both Avicenna and Averroes as heretical