"On Radical Forgiveness, Duty, and Justice"
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Authors
Sanjay Lal
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Journal Article, Academic Journal
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Abstract
Philosophers have grappled with clarifying both the nature and ethical status of acts of forgiveness. Much discussion has been devoted to whether, say, acts of forgiveness can be performed by outside parties or whether such acts should be thought of as supererogatory rather than as moral requirements. In what follows, I will explore questions pertaining to ‘radical’ acts of forgiveness as they relate to considerations of duties and justice. Acts of forgiveness that tend to move us the most are often justified by appeals to self-duty. I will survey recent examples and show a possible philosophical basis for understanding them in terms of self-duty. This kind of basis has been virtually ignored by the vast philosophical literature on forgiveness. I attempt to show both that considerations of self-duty can provide a secular basis for justifying radical acts of forgiveness and that problems associated with this kind of forgiveness and justice are not as serious as they are often taken to be.