Book section
Forgiving as a performative utterance
- Abstract:
- When A wrongs B, A incurs an obligation to make atonement to B by apologizing with repentance, making reparation, and perhaps also doing a bit more for B, which I call “penance.” For B to forgive A (in the morally most important sense of “forgive”) is for B to promise to treat A in the future as someone who has not wronged B. It is normally good for B to forgive A after A has made at least some attempt at making atonement, but B has no obligation to forgive. To wrong someone is analogous to occurring an (unauthorized) debt to the person, and forgiving is deeming the debt to have been paid. Christ taught that, in order to forgive humans, God requires them to apologize with repentance. But God requires no reparation or penance (apart from that provided for us by Christ’s life and death) and imposes a condition on forgiving us—that we should forgive other humans who seek our forgiveness.
- Publication status:
- Published
- Peer review status:
- Peer reviewed
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- Files:
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(Preview, Accepted manuscript, pdf, 124.7KB, Terms of use)
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- Publisher copy:
- 10.1093/oso/9780190602147.003.0006
Authors
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- Host title:
- Forgiveness
- Chapter number:
- 6
- Publication date:
- 2021-06-17
- DOI:
- EISBN:
- 9780190602178
- ISBN:
- 9780190602147
- Language:
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English
- Keywords:
- Pubs id:
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pubs:1013595
- UUID:
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uuid:76e63147-f328-4f01-869f-8f630d15b6ab
- Local pid:
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pubs:1013595
- Source identifiers:
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1013595
- Deposit date:
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2019-06-14
- ARK identifier:
Terms of use
- Copyright holder:
- Oxford University Press
- Copyright date:
- 2021
- Rights statement:
- © Oxford University Press 2021.
- Notes:
- This is the accepted manuscript version of the chapter. The final version is available online from Oxford University Press at: https://doi.org/10.1093/oso/9780190602147.003.0006
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