Document Type
Article
Language
eng
Format of Original
14 p.
Publication Date
3-2013
Publisher
SAGE Publications
Source Publication
Philosophy & Social Criticism
Source ISSN
0191-4537
Original Item ID
doi: 10.1177/0191453712473079
Abstract
In this article I examine the challenging question concerning whether communal forgiveness is possible. In order to show that it is in principle possible I articulate and then respond to two of the most powerful objections to communal forgiveness that have been formulated to date, namely: (1) the argument that only victims can forgive; and (2) the argument that forgiveness is unconditional and thus outside the scope of such things as communal or political deliberation.
I argue that communal forgiveness is a process of transformation that requires at the practical level an institutional framework in which a representative of a community can initiate the process of forgiveness, like Nelson Mandela and Desmond Tutu did in South Africa. Because forgiveness is a process of transformation, it cannot be assessed at the level of acts or commitments alone, but is a wager on the future that will indeed show whether the communities involved have accepted the transformation.
Recommended Citation
Vandevelde, Pol, "Forgiveness in a Political Context: The Challenge and the Potential" (2013). Philosophy Faculty Research and Publications. 422.
https://epublications.marquette.edu/phil_fac/422
Comments
Accepted version. Philosophy & Social Criticism, Vol. 39, No. 3 (March 2013): 263-276. DOI. © 2013 SAGE Publications. Used with permission.