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Feminist Ethics and Social and Political Philosophy: Theorizing the Non-Ideal pp 185–204Cite as

Practicing Imperfect Forgiveness

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Abstract

Forgiveness is typically regarded as a good thing – even a virtue – but acts of forgiveness can vary widely in value, depending on their context and motivation. Faced with this variation, philosophers have tended to reinforce everyday concepts of forgiveness with strict sets of conditions, creating ideals or paradigms of forgiveness. These are meant to distinguish good or praiseworthy instances of forgiveness from problematic instances and, in particular, to protect the self-respect of would-be forgivers. But paradigmatic forgiveness is problematic for a number of reasons, including its inattention to forgiveness as a gendered trait. We can account for the values and the risks associated with forgiving far better if we treat it as moral practice and not an ideal.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Philosophy, York University, S418, Ross Building, 4700 Keele Street, M3J 1P3, Toronto, ON, Canada

    Alice MacLachlan

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  1. Alice MacLachlan
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Correspondence to Alice MacLachlan .

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Editors and Affiliations

  1. Dept. Philosophy, Binghamton University, Binghamton, 13902-6000, U.S.A.

    Lisa Tessman

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MacLachlan, A. (2009). Practicing Imperfect Forgiveness. In: Tessman, L. (eds) Feminist Ethics and Social and Political Philosophy: Theorizing the Non-Ideal. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4020-6841-6_11

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