Hopeness and truth. Prolegomena to a philosophy of hopeness

Abstract

Although a philosophy of hopeness seems to be an entirely contemporary
proposal (Bloch, Fromm, Husserl, Laín, Marcel, Heidegger, Patočka, Stein),
its sketches took place in the 6th century BC. The goal of this research is
to present the preliminary exercises around a philosophy of hopeness in
the context of Heraclitus’ controversy with Pythagoras. From a qualitative
approach, through the hermeneutical historical method, a data analysis
was made. As a sample we take primary sources on the Golden Verses of
Pythagoras and the Fragments of Heraclitus and as secondary the most
recognized translations and commentaries. The instrument used was the
mixed worksheets. As a result, it is observed that hope is a problem for
the Greek people, that in vv. 52-53 of the Golden Verses and in fragment
22B 18 DK it is found outlined as a philosophical problem, which is better understood from Heraclitus’s critique of Pythagoras and in relation to other
key fragments of Ephesian thought. The research allows us to conclude that
hopeness is not an exclusive theme of theology or properly contemporary, but
initially of philosophy, which finds in Heraclitus’s debate with Pythagoras
its preliminary formulations and a propitious context to problematize it in
its habitual understanding, to rethink it to the light of the spirit of time and
redefine it as a way-of-life.