Trust and Hope

Abstract

Abstract Chapter 6 discusses two closely connected attitudes of the heart: trust and hope. What is basic to all forms of trust is trust’s second-personal character, which sets it apart from mere reliance. There is, however, a kind of trust that is distinctively personal. When personal trust of this kind is unfulfilled, we are more likely to use the language of personal disappointment, sadness, and hurt feelings than of blame and moral indignation. This difference between deontic and personal trust is reflected in the contrast between deontic reactive attitudes—attitudes of the will—and attitudes of the heart quite generally. But although we can expect respect, love, and therefore, trust, hope, and other attitudes of the heart are nothing that can be demanded or expected. Hopes that we place in someone differ from any hope that they will do something or other.