Despite the familiarity of hope in human experience it is a phenomenon infrequently considered from a philosophical point of view this book charts the centrality of hope in thought and action from first second and third person perspectives. Jayne m waterworth takes a central human phenomenon hope and subjects it to philosophical scrutiny through conceptual analysis she provides a phenomenological description of hope and develops a secular account of hope in thought and action. Jayne m waterworth takes a central human phenomenon hope and subjects it to philosophical scrutiny through conceptual analysis she provides a phenomenological description of hope and develops a secular account of hope in thought and action. A philosophical analysis of hope by jayne waterworth palgrave macmillan 2004 philosophy despite the familiarity of hope in human experience it is a phenomenon infrequently considered from a philosophical point of view. Discussions of hope can be found throughout the history of philosophy and across all western philosophical traditions even though philosophy has traditionally not paid the same attention to hope as it has to attitudes like belief and desire