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The Palgrave Encyclopedia of the Possible pp 1–10Cite as

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Wish

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Abstract

This entry proposes a sociocultural approach to wishes and wish-making, distinct from existing psychoanalytical and cognitive discussions of this phenomenon. It considers wish-making as part and parcel of everyday life and one of the main ways we have to engage with the future and attempt to construct it according to our needs and desires. Wishes are not signs of intrinsic irrationality, nor markers of pathological functioning; instead, they are embedded in human action and connect us to the possible, to others, and to the world. The entry starts by reviewing research into different types of wishes before considering in more detail theories and studies of wish-fulfilment and wishful thinking. It concludes with a reinterpretation of wishes as having their own scope, rationality, and as being intrinsically related to the ethical.

Keywords

  • Wish
  • Wish fulfilment
  • Wishful-thinking
  • Sociocultural psychology
  • Possibility

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Psychology and Counseling, Webster University Geneva, Geneva, Switzerland

    Vlad P. Glăveanu

  2. Center for the Science of Learning and Technology (SLATE), University of Bergen, Bergen, Norway

    Vlad P. Glăveanu

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  1. Vlad P. Glăveanu
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Correspondence to Vlad P. Glăveanu .

Section Editor information

  1. Marconi Institute for Creativity (MIC) Lab, University of Bologna, Bologna, Italy

    Serena Mastria

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Glăveanu, V.P. (2021). Wish. In: The Palgrave Encyclopedia of the Possible. Palgrave Macmillan, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-98390-5_179-1

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-98390-5_179-1

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  • Publisher Name: Palgrave Macmillan, Cham

  • Print ISBN: 978-3-319-98390-5

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Chapter History

  1. Latest

    Wish
    Published:
    13 September 2022

    DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-98390-5_179-2

  2. Original

    Wish
    Published:
    10 November 2020

    DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-98390-5_179-1