Have you ever been the victim of false hope when someone tells you what you want to hear when you know he or she has already decided to the contrary . . . or, worse, when they are lying to make you hopeful and get you to do what they want?
Probably even the best among us have engaged in “letting someone down gently” or “let me think about buying that [fill in the blank] and get back to you next week.” These may feel harmless and few people like confrontation.
Certainly, false hope can be devastating when it relates to something as dire as a quack “cure” for a terminal disease or preying on people in financial distress by promising some form of relief which turns out to be almost or completely fraudulent.
Hope, like anything else, can be used for good or ill. Is false hope deception? Does the answer depend on the “scale” of the duplicity? How do you recognize false hope in your own life?