An Account of Earned Forgiveness through Apology

Abstract

I start by presenting an intuitively appealing account of forgiveness, ‘the insult account’, which nicely explains the cycle from wrongdoing to forgiveness. We need to respond to wrongdoing by blaming our offenders because they insult us with their actions (Murphy 1988; Hieronymi Philosophy and Phenomenological Research, LXII(3), 529–55, 2001; Hampton 1988a, b). How can wrongdoing be overcome? Either by the retraction of the insult or by taking necessary steps to correct for the wrong done. Once the insult has been retracted, usually by apology or remorse, forgiveness can come about. Martin The Journal of Philosophy, 107(10), 534–53, (2010) has recently criticized this promising account of forgiveness. My aim here is to defend an improved version of the ‘insult account’. I propose an account of earned forgiveness through apology, which shares features with the ‘insult account’ criticized by Martin, but also improves upon problems found in the ‘insult account’. This new account will successfully solve the puzzle of forgiveness. Drawing on Bovens’ (2009) account of apologies, I argue that apologies uniquely earn the wrongdoer’s forgiveness. I finally address a concern about the relation between apologies and forgiveness, recently raised by Hallich Ethical Theory and Moral Practice, 16(5), 999–1017, (2016). I argue that my expressive view of what the function of apologies is will answer his skepticism about apologies.

Forgiveness among Ghanaian children and early adolescents in the context of peer‐to‐peer dyads

“…Hence, when people judge a harmful act being committed by a bad person with a bad motive, they are more likely to perceive the offender as responsible, and the act as more causal, intentional, blameworthy, and punishable rather than forgiving. On the other hand, rendering an apology makes forgiveness more likely and restores the moral level of respect in the context of intentional wrongdoing (Roadevin, 2016). In this study, the adolescents hinged their motivation to forgive the actions and intentions of the wrongdoer.…”