Unbeatable

It's good, first and foremost, in that it feels better than the absence of hope. Also, it has practical utility. It prompts people to do things that they would not be motivated to do if they had no hope.

post tenebras lux

But if the hope is 'imaginary' how can you be sure that you're actually doing things that are of benefit rather than doing harm?

If your motivation is an imaginary all-powerful friend who can do anything, anytime and anywhere, then your 'imaginary' hope - that all you need to do to save your child is to pray and have faith - could cause you to do things (spend your time praying and reading the bible) that do no benefit whilst neglecting things that could: getting your sick child to hospital and under the care of medical experts.

So, 'imaginary' hope can be very harmful, don't you agree?

Unbeatable

I don't know. How can a person with non-imaginary hope be sure? I suspect an imaginary hope and a non-imaginary hope(if such a thing exists) are indistinguishable from the perspective of the person experiencing them. Otherwise I wouldn't expect the former to be as appealing as it evidently is.

Of course. But steamer asked "What good is imaginary hope"? The fact that it can be harmful in various cases is beside the point. Unfortunately, I did neglect to use a modifier (is that the right term?) like "often", so I suppose I can't fault you for jumping to the conclusion that I wasn't aware of the existence of situations like your hypothetical, but the truth is I simply wasn't focused on the possibility of that sort of misinterpretation, because from my perspective, that whole line of thinking had nothing to do with the question I was answering.

post tenebras lux

The comment was refering to imaginary hope.

The question about when one can be sure whether one's hopes are real or imaginary is a seperate issue and (although I could be mistaken) one that I thought had been assumed to already have been settled.

The claim was that: Imaginary Hope can be good. When is 'imaginary' hope better than honest realism? When is thinking that some impossible event could happen helpful when facing some danger? :huh:

Howard

You don’t know that it’s imaginary, you just believe it is (as do I).

Imaginary hope can be bad if, say, people decide to forego medical care for prayer. However, as long as they don’t do that, I don’t see a problem with it.

We all have to find ways of coping with the pain of death, and for many people believing in a God and a hereafter is the way. I don’t buy it, but I don’t see the harm in it.

post tenebras lux

Well, I thought the claim was that known 'imaginary' hope could be a good thing. If you're claiming you only mean potentially 'imaginary' hope, then steamer might feel that you've failed to properly answer his question.I can see lots of times when such a belief is harmful. Suppose your loved one died tragically (whether in a car crash, under the surgeon's knife, or because of unsafe working practices), if you now think that your loved one is safe and happy in paradise you might not be as vigorous in ensuring that no-one else dies in the same tragic way.

Unbeatable

Yes, that's an appropriate wording. It looks like you did understand what I was talking about, after all.

Howard

If people believe in something it’s not imaginary to them, no matter how ridiculous it may sound. When it comes to hope, how can anyone determine what’s imaginary hope and what’s not?

Are you suggesting that Xtians might be, say, less safe drivers because they believe they’re going to heaven? I don’t buy it.

However, fanatic belief in the “next life” can, for some people, have dire consequences. Muslim suicide bombers are the best example. In the end, though, I think most believers are just as scared of death and just as hurt by losing a loved one as non-believers. They just have a glimmer of hope that helps them get through it.

Steve Schlicht

It was a brain activity.

It's your claim, I would hope that it would be testable/provable.

The other day I was driving along thinking of a song I really like, turned on the car radio and it was playing.

What do any of these events (your shower), my dream and the song event have to do with anything other than chance occurrences?

Nothing.

Selectively we make a big deal out of perceived "matches" with current or timely events while disregarding the majority of "misses".

Steve

Thomas II

Pure coincidence?...I could not tell, but neither can you.
In this case it's an isolated event because its not like this is happening every day, so there is no "majority" of misses...
I consider this case curious but not conclusive.