Difficult Forgiveness? Engaging Paul Ricoeur on Public Forgiveness within the Context of Social Change in South Africa

Abstract

In the context of public discourse in South Africa, this article engages Paul Ricoeur’s influential and thought-provoking work on forgiveness, also as it intersects with the work of Jacques Derrida. The article argues that Ricoeur’s discussion of ‘difficult forgiveness’ provides important conceptual clarification in the search for responsible discourse on forgiveness, and offers some brief remarks regarding the promise and pitfalls of using the notion of ‘difficult forgiveness’ in post-conflict situations marked by historical injustice, such as South Africa. It is argued that Ricoeur’s discussion of forgiveness helpfully demonstrates the complexities involved in forgiving in a way that resists cheap forgiveness, and that his nuanced attempt to make room for the spirit of forgiveness to touch institutions enriches the discourse on public forgiveness and its role in the humanization of polarized societies. Given the eschatological tone of Ricoeur’s discussion of forgiveness, the article also points towards the need for future-orientated memory to deal with historical injustices.

Towards an (Im)possible Politics of Forgiveness? Considering the Complexities of Religion, Race and Politics in South Africa

“…Gobodo-Madikizela & Van der Merwe (eds. ), 2009;Vosloo, 2015;. As has already been noted, there are concerns about the expectation that the concept places on persons who have been wronged.…”

“…As mentioned earlier, some persons have argued that forgiveness is too contested and contingent a concept (or process) to allow for constructive social engagement toward change in South Africa (cf. Gobodo-Madikizela & Van der Merwe, 2009;Lephakga, 2016;Vosloo, 2015;. For example, John Brewer 5 has advocated for the use of "mercy" instead of forgiveness (Brewer & Hayes, 2016).…”

A politics of forgiveness? Engaging the ontological and the structural in the dialogical theology of John de Gruchy

“…Numerous South African scholars and activists have raised concerns about the manner in which forgiveness has been turned into a social and political utility by some South Africans. There are grave concerns about the narrow way in which forgiveness is understood and utilised, in this context (cf., Forster, 2018: 77-94;Gobodo-Madikizela & Merwe 2009;Vosloo 2015aVosloo , 2012. This is painfully illustrated by the South African poet, Nathan Trantraal, in his poem "Fiction en enstrangement".…”

Translation and a politics of forgiveness in South Africa? What black Christians believe, and white Christians do not seem to understand

“…Forgiveness, as a theological and social discourse in South Africa, is deeply contested. Numerous South African scholars and activists have raised concerns about the transactional nature of the concept of forgiveness in this context (cf., Gobodo-Madikizela & Merwe 2009;Vosloo 2015aVosloo , 2012. Why would white South Africans want to be forgiven?…”