Ernst Bloch and The Philosophy (Principle) of Hope

A better world is always possible.

Massive thanks to Jon from @JonTheLitCritGuy for doing not only the bulk of the script but the core, central, interpretive, understanding of Bloch for this video. This is as much his video as it is mine.

Same exact perks if you prefer to support via the YouTube member section:

Sources:
Ernst Bloch:

Tom Whyman's Infinitely Full of Hope:

Socials:

Timestamp:
I.: 0:00
II. Why Hope Now? Hope in an Age of Catastrophe: 1:35
III. Ernst Bloch: Philosopher of Hope: 6:15
IV. Hope and the Not-Yet: 10:43
V. Hope and The Dialectics of History: 17:14
VI. Hope and Politics: Marxism and Utopia: 23:42
VII. Salvaging Hope in an Age of Cynical Despair: 27:50
VIII.: 31:56

[epochphilosophy]

Hey friends! Epoch Philosophy is primarily funded by you all directly. YouTube's ad policies continue to get more and more shaky as time goes on, and it pays godawfully little. Especially for long-form philosophy content. Consider pledging a few bucks a month on Patreon, or pressing the "JOIN" button above. Truly, without that support I couldn't make these videos. Hopefully there are some decent perks and benefits that sweeten the deal. Thanks in advance to anyone who is so kind.

[Work-WorkBalance]

Ernst Bloch is probably the most underrated philosopher of the 20th century. I really recommend to read his books

[curiositymidnight]

The fact we do not all live in the same now is such an important point in his work; thank you for highlighting that temporality in these times.

[Bojoschannel]

"Even a well-founded hope can be disappointed, otherwise it would not be hope..." that hit hard, so simple, yet so charged with meaning.

[JonTheLitCritGuy]

Thank you so much for the chance to work on this with you, it came together so well!

[AWorldtoWin]

Beautifully done comrades. Bloch had the rare gift of being a powerful thinker who was also a gorgeous writer. People like Kant were of course profound thinkers but–in my opinion anyhow–wrote in an incredibly turgid way.

For the ruthless criticism of all that exists.

Melody

[ThenNow]

Awesome and inspiring job. Reminded me of Spinoza and Deleuze a lot. I'm wondering whether you or @thelitcritguy know whether Deleuze was influenced by Bloch at all?

[phishlipsable]

i maintain a nihilist attitude albiet what i consider optimistic nihilism. this video supports the field (no pun intended) i work within: sustainable agriculture. i need to think more on the idea of hope (i have a lot of time these days as most fruiting crops are ready), but i believe practicing ~good~ land management is absolutely tied to hope. most (good) farmers always claim they build soil first then crops. building soil, to me, is the most hopeful venture i can ever participate, and i feel hopeful because the history of agriculture is never over! thanks for giving my field thoughts something new to consider.

[tierfreund]

I've experienced this feeling of Vorschein. been in a temporary space which upheld the principle and created safe home for living things. it's real

[russellfacemire]

YES. So glad to see this collaboration!

[LogicGated]

Love how easily this video breaks down the concepts for us.

[matthewr]

Great video! I was fortunate enough to get an entire grad school class on Bloch's work at Stony Brook about a decade ago. Life changing material.

[mranderson]

This is amazing. The comment section is to me not able to express my feelings towards this video. Hope and Utopia are worth striving towards. Murray Bookchin’s writings on Social Ecology has been a big influence on myself. What can we be? Our potential is still there.

[caitlinoloughlin]

Thank you for this amazing video. I'm wrestling with Bloch for my dissertation and this was such a great framing for me as I read his work.

[ellastack]

This is a really helpful introduction to a great and lengthy work! Thank you so much!

[Δάμωνος_Δ]

That was absolutely beautiful, moving, and inspirational. Thank you for creating this.

[feelthewyrd]

i had never heard of bloch. Incomplete reality is something that i relate to .... but trying to get someone to understand it can easily feel hopeless! lol

[mapleandsteel]

"Hope is a doggie. A cute doggie. Standing next to a rose"
- Tenacious D

[hanskung]

I don't know what to think about this vid., because in part I don't understand it completely but I feel that being only present oriented, perhaps denying that there is a future, possibly because it might be a grim future, is oppressive....and listening to Bloch opens up the future and inspired me to look to religion and a future positive orientation and 'seek first the Kingdom of God....", according to Bloch we are never satisfied and according to Augustine "our hearts are restless until they rest in you Lord".

[JJ-wiuw]

Nothing is ever as bad as it seems and nothing is ever as good as it seems.