Despair is felt in response to the absence of hope, while hope is felt in response to its presence. Good represents the affirmation of a being, whereas evil represents its negation; these exist as an ethical hierarchy relative to ontology. Furthermore, negation arises in response to the fact that something exists.
When a being exists, its affirmation can be considered “good” for that being, as it constitutes an acceptance of its existence. Conversely, the negation of a being is rejection. The fact that evil is negation indicates an ethical perspective regarding existence in general. Hope, then, is the possibility directed toward existence.
When experiencing despair, one must be careful not to confuse “absence” with “negation.” Negation arises through a conflict with affirmation, but absence does not necessarily involve such conflict. If one misreads absence as negation, their ethical attitude toward existence will be misguided.
However, the root of despair is often an absence caused by negation. Despair is a reactive fiction constructed in response to absence. When negation is evil and leads to absence, despair carries an ethical hierarchy. When attempting to address an absence fraught with negation, this ethical hierarchy becomes an obstacle to overcoming it.
Overcoming despair involves reconstructing the fiction by affirming that which was negated. In that process, this affirmation and negation clash within the ethical hierarchy. Emerging from despair requires a transcendence of the hierarchy where this conflict occurs; it demands a flexibility of judgment that allows one to move between hierarchies rather than depending on a single ethical layer.
