The concept of hope and the will to live

Abstract

Hope is defined as a concept that suggests a greater emotional component than mere expectation, and is seen as an active process of conscious and unconscious reasoning. Hope is intrinsically linked with caring, and the professional role of the nurse can often influence the generation of hope or hopelessness in the care of patients. The appropriateness of removing all hope even within palliative care is questioned. A case study is presented in which a patient, requesting euthanasia, hovered on the brink of death yet would not die. For this patient all 'hope' of wanting to live had waned, yet she could not die. A new concept of 'rational no-hope' is postulated.