tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6642011.post116849785872850184..comments2023-10-29T10:32:36.914-04:00Comments on Philosophy, et cetera: Guest post: ReconciliationRichard Y Chappellhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16725218276285291235noreply@blogger.comBlogger4125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6642011.post-1169132247143607782007-01-18T09:57:00.000-05:002007-01-18T09:57:00.000-05:00you can find a very interesting analysis of the co...you can find a very interesting analysis of the concept of forgiveness in continental philosophy. ARe you surprised? Check ou Paul Ricoeur Ricordare, dimenticare, perdonare, Il Mulino, Bologna 2004. (I do not know the original title in French.) <BR/>In general the theme of "forgiving" is very useful for philosophy of history. One of the issues in philosophy of history, is, of course, the issue of the function of historical thought, understood as judgment about one's own past and the past of one's own culture or group.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6642011.post-1168841568852045032007-01-15T01:12:00.000-05:002007-01-15T01:12:00.000-05:00It's interesting to try to work out exactly what f...It's interesting to try to work out exactly what forgiveness and reconciliation <I>are</I>. I'm not sure that they must involve the kind of total erasure that Don Jr. implies (though I take his point about their intended <I>permanence</I>).<BR/><BR/>At a first pass, I think I'd want to say that reconciliation is a practical commitment to repair a relationship, or to "make things work". I don't think it has to work in exactly the same way as it did before though.<BR/><BR/>Forgiveness, on the other hand, seems more abstract - a kind of moral attitude, perhaps. To forgive one for something is to say that you no longer "hold it against them". (Does it further require that your good opinion of them is fully restored? Sage's suggestion looks to be something along these lines...)<BR/><BR/>It seems that these two could come apart (even assuming that the other is appropriately apologetic). You could forgive someone their sins without wanting to renew the relationship. Or you could try to reconcile with someone who you either no longer fully respect or, at least, retain some grievance against. (Though the attempt might not work out very well, of course.) Unless, do you think, the respective forgiveness/reconciliation must be less than fully genuine in these cases?Richard Y Chappellhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16725218276285291235noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6642011.post-1168827503263740522007-01-14T21:18:00.000-05:002007-01-14T21:18:00.000-05:00I think forgiveness means we will continue to resp...I think forgiveness means we will continue to respect and honour the person being forgiven as if the negative act didn't happen. But I don't believe we can actually make ourselves forget anything; we just shove it deeply into our sub-conscious. But it's still there.<BR/><BR/>I think forgiveness can be given more than just superficially, and not just to a point in original intention, yet the transgression not totally forgotten, in which case the forgiveness can be withdrawn when the true nature of the beast is revealed. (Does that make sense?) Or, I guess, we can forgive the action, but avoid the person. But if I'm avoiding interacting with someone who steals from me, I haven't forgotten the thefts.<BR/><BR/>I agree that both parties need to be involved for reconciliation to occur, but I also think, going beyond the topic, that it's possible to be positively affected by the act of forgiving even without the other party's involvement or even knowledge. I'm thinking of scenarios like an abused child one day years later learning to forgive her father now long dead.Sagehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14481252201307998355noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6642011.post-1168651981713718932007-01-12T20:33:00.000-05:002007-01-12T20:33:00.000-05:00I have found forgiveness to be a really powerful a...I have found forgiveness to be a really powerful act in my own life. But there are some acts I do think we should forgive in a temporary fashion, forgive but not forget. If someone steals from me, but is remorseful, I'll forgive that episode and assume it was a temporary error in judgment. I can go on to trust the person again. But if I'm robbed a second time, that act piggybacks on the original transgression immediately. In a survival sense, it's not wise to forget the harm a person causes us because at some point we may need to decide to avoid this person for our own safety. <BR/><BR/>This comes from an atheistic perspective, however. If you think the next life brings justice, then you can forgive and forget 7 x 70 times and then some. I'm just trying to keep this life going as long as possible.Sagehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14481252201307998355noreply@blogger.com