The Book of Hope: A Survival Guide for Trying Times

Content Warning: This section of the guide discusses genocide.

Four months later, Jane and Doug meet in the Netherlands. During the past months, Doug’s father passed away. Doug thinks about how his father’s mind “unraveled into delirium” (43) in his last days, and wonders why “human intellect,” which now seems so fragile to him, is one of Jane’s reasons for hope.

From Prehistoric Ape to Master of the World

Jane details the intelligent acts of all kinds of creatures, from bees to chimps, but says there’s still something “incredible” about human intellect. She thinks humans are “intellectual,” but not “intelligent,” as an intelligent animal wouldn’t “destroy its only home” (46).

She believes access to spoken language allowed for human intellect. In Doug’s own research, he learned that language, goal setting, and hope all “arise” in the prefrontal cortex, the most recently evolved part of the brain.

Half Sinner, Half Saint

Jane thinks humans will do “whatever it takes to survive in the world” (49), and the goodness or evil made by human intellect will be affected by what we must do to survive. Good social changes will lead to the former, while hate will lead to the latter.