Radical Hope

How does a nation come to life-and-death decisions at a time of crisis when it can no longer live according to its founding values? The strategic brilliance of Jonathan Lear's response to this deeply important question lies in focusing our attention on the exemplary history of the Crow people, and deploying the insights of psychoanalysis to interpret their struggle for survival. With admirable lucidity, in the most clear-cut language, he shows us that besides the glamorous alternatives of freedom or death there is a third way, less grand yet demanding just as much courage: the way of creative adaptation. -- J. M. Coetzee, winner of the 2004 Nobel Prize in Literature and author of Slow Man
As a story of courage and moral imagination, Radical Hope is very powerful and moving. The book deals with a very important contemporary issue, how cultures may seek rescue from near-death; one that cannot help but be more and more relevant to our times. It treats this subject with clarity and depth, drawing on philosophy, psychoanalysis, and anthropology. As a book which straddles these disciplinary gaps it is rather exceptional; but it aptly demonstrates how superior a discussion of this question is, which comes to grips with the details of a paradigm case. It is a valuable addition to important debates today. -- Charles Taylor, Professor of Philosophy, McGill University
This is a philosopher making use of anthropology and history in a way that is quite uncharacteristic of philosophers. It is an attempt to throw light on the concepts of courage, of practical reasoning, of identity, and of hope through a study of the autobiographical testimony of the last great chief of the Crow nation, Plenty Coups, concerning the events which deprived the Crow of their traditional way of life. Plenty Coups said of the extinction of the buffalo, that 'After this nothing happened.' Lear asks and answers the question of what Plenty Coups could have meant by this. This is a remarkable little book. -- Alasdair MacIntyre, Senior Research Professor of Philosophy, Notre Dame University
In this very engaging book, Lear examines the cultural collapse of the tribe of Native Americans known as the Crow Nation. He describes his analysis as a form of philosophical anthropology, as he focuses on the tribe's thinking and how its members attempted to live when their values and lifestyle were being threatened. He begins by examining the importance of bravery, courage, and honor within the tribe's culture and how these values were tested when the Crow were forced to abandon their warrior lifestyle and move onto a reservation. Their chief, Plenty Coups, inspired the Crow to use what Lear describes as 'imaginative excellence' by trying to imagine what ethical values would be needed in their new lifestyle. Plenty Coups did this with a combination of such traditional sources as dream interpretation and past ethical values, which gave the Crow an opportunity to overcome their despair and lead a meaningful life. In his analysis, Lear creatively uses philosophical ideas to explain what it must have been like for the Crow to make this radical change. -- Scott Duimstra * Library Journal *
For those interested in the final years of the Crow nation or the ethical challenges faced by victims of cultural destruction, this book will prove enlightening. * Publishers Weekly *
Lear, a psychoanalyst and professor of philosophy, delves into what he calls the 'blind spot' of any culture: the inability to conceive of its own devastation. He molds his thoughts around a poignant historical model, the decimated nation of Crow Indians in the early decades of the twentieth century… What makes this discussion relevant to mainstream readers is his application of the blind spot hypothesis to the present, in which the twenty-first century was ushered in by terrorist attacks, social upheavals, and natural catastrophes, leaving us with 'an uncanny sense of menace' and a heightened perception of how vulnerable our civilizations are to destruction, as were the Crow. -- Deborah Donovan * Booklist *
There is so much to learn here; Lear parses the differences between mere optimism and radical hope, as it is manifest in Plenty Coups' 'fidelity to his prophetic dream.' It's one of those books you want to put in the hands of leaders the world over. -- Susan Salter Reynolds * Los Angeles Times Book Review *
A sustained meditation on cultural collapse, a brilliant, moving discussion of what it means to lose sense of one's existence without losing hope that existence makes sense. Lear's meditation centers on Plenty Coups, the last great chief of the Crow Nation, who watched, and in many ways directed, the transition from a nomadic hunting culture to one confined to reservations. Lear argues that he exhibited a special version of courage, an ironic and transcendental courage in the form of radical hope. His account opens up meaning for anyone, anywhere, who lives in and thinks about his or her world. -- Mark Kingwell * Globe & Mail *
Jonathan Lear's latest book, Radical Hope: Ethics in the Face of Cultural Devastation, consists in an inquiry, properly characterized as a form of philosophical anthropology, into 'a peculiar form of vulnerability' that is arguably part of the human condition… The general problem, however, that he deals with has to do with what he calls the 'blind spot' of any culture: the inability to conceive of its own destruction and possible extinction… I can only add my comments of well-deserved praise to an already long list of similar comments by illustrious commentators… Lear's book is not only a masterfully crafted and deeply moving narrative, but it also offers us a timely philosophical reflection that is highly relevant to our current condition at this juncture of history. Needless to say, we live in an age of deep and profound angst that the world itself, as we know it, is vulnerable and could break down… Lear may be right when he says that 'if we could give a name to our shared sense of vulnerability, perhaps we could find better ways to live with it.' But, being naturally more pessimistically inclined, and therefore arguably more realistic, I sincerely doubt if this will suffice. -- Nader N. Chokr * Metapsychology *
Lear's book breaks new ground, in an extremely interesting way… What do I take away from this short, illuminating book? My own version of radical hope, applied to very different circumstances… This is what makes Lear's well-written and philosophically sophisticated book so valuable. As a story of courage and moral imagination, it is very powerful and moving. But it also offers the kind of insights that would-be builders of 'new world order' desperately need. -- Charles Taylor * New York Review of Books *
A beautifully crafted and skillfully constructed examination of the dreams and hopes of Chief Plenty Coups, the last principal leader of the Crow people. Lear succeeds admirably in portraying the ethical and social issues Plenty Coups overcame to bring his people into a new, dramatically different reality. -- Timothy P. McCleary, Little Big Horn College, Crow Agency, Montana
[A] luminous book. -- Michael Ignatieff * New Republic *
[Lear's] book exemplifies the best features of recent breakthrough works in philosophy: it is analytically rigorous, yet grounded in both history and anthropology, and open to world-views other than those safely ensconced in the Western academy… Lear's account of cultural devastation serves as an important rejoinder to those constructions of society based on the beliefs of liberal individualism. -- Luke Gibbons * Field Day Review *
Radical Hope is a very rich and complicated repast that a reader can savor over and over again, discovering new insights with each reading. My review, in short, cannot do Lear's book justice. -- Ryan LaMothe * Psychologist–Psychoanalyst *
Thought-provoking and highly-recommended… As Lear points out, with the onset of reservation life it became increasingly problematic to define what a warrior was and there was no longer a clear sense of what it was to be outstanding as a chief. In a very real sense, Lear's observation holds true today. The tribal water quality specialist may do excellent work and the recipient of a tribal scholarship may be a top-notch student. They may also be aware of the tribe's history; participate in tribal ceremonies, and understand the importance of place in tribal culture. But neither understands how to constitute themselves as persons who need to internalize the ideals associated with those social roles for the benefit of the tribe… An examination of Lear's book is an excellent starting point for those planning tribal workforce development programs. -- Mervyn Tano * International Institute for Indigenous Resource Management *
Don't be alarmed by its grimly academic title; [Radical Hope: Ethics in the Face of Cultural Devastation] is one of the most profound and elegantly written books to come out in decades. The book discusses a Crow Indian leader named Plenty Coups, who led his people through their brutal transition from a nomadic hunting culture to confinement on a government reservation. This is not a work of history or anthropology, however, but an inquiry into how an entire society can radically transform itself in order to survive. Lear's book is visionary and—if you take its message to heart—transformative. He has done one of those rare things: produced a work that applies to literally every person on the planet. -- Sebastian Junger * Time *