Forgiveness and Moral Development

Abstract

Forgiveness is clearly an important aspect of our moral lives, yet surprisingly Kant, one of the most important authors in the history of Western ethics, seems to have very little to say about it. Some authors explain this omission by noting that forgiveness sits uncomfortably in Kant’s moral thought: forgiveness seems to have an ineluctably ‘elective’ aspect which makes it to a certain extent arbitrary; thus it stands in tension with Kant’s claim that agents are autonomous beings, capable of determining their own moral status through rational reflection and choice. Other authors recognise that forgiveness plays a role in Kant’s philosophy but fail to appreciate the nature of this duty and misrepresent the Kantian argument in support of it. This paper argues that there is space in Kant’s philosophy for a genuine theory of forgiveness and hopes to lay the grounds for a correct interpretation of this theory. I argue that from a Kantian perspective, forgiveness is not ‘elective’ but, at least in some cases, morally required. I claim that, for Kant, we have an imperfect duty of virtue to forgive repentant wrongdoers that have embarked on a project of self-reflection and self-reform. I develop a novel argument in support of this duty by drawing on Kant’s theory of rational agency, the thesis of radical evil, Kant’s theory of moral development, and the formula of humanity. However, it must be noted that this is a conditional duty and Kant’s position also entails that absence of repentance on the part of the wrongdoer should be taken as evidence of a lack of commitment to a project of self-reflection and self-reform. In such cases, Kant claims, we have a perfect duty to ourselves not to forgive unrepentant wrongdoers. I argue that this duty should be understood as one of the duties of self-esteem, which involves the duty to respect and recognise our own dignity as rational beings.

Exploring the similarities and differences in the forgiveness of the elders living in the old-age homes and the families

“…It was observed that certain socio-cultural, humanistic and moral values influenced the forgiveness in both, the elders living in families and those living in old-age homes. Common humanity (Enright, 1996;Worthington et al, 2005) and morality (Satne, 2016) have been linked with forgiveness in previous literature.…”

Kantian Forgiveness: Fallibility, Guilt and the need to become a Better Person: Reply to Blöser

“…12-13 and Satne, 2016, pp. 1033 See Blöser, 2019, p. 14;Satne, 2016, p. 1032. 8 Satne, 2016, p. 1034 I am convinced by Geoffrey Scarre's argument that we cannot give a strict definition of forgiveness because overcoming the negative emotions commonly associated with wrongdoing might be neither necessary nor sufficient for forgiveness (See Scarre, 2004, pp.…”

“…25-31). Kant's account is well suited to accommodate a flexible and pluralistic model because Kantian imperfect duties of sympathy involve the adoption of maxims which can be understood as principles of cultivating one's character through a variety of practices including the cultivation of some emotional responses (See Satne, 2016Satne, , esp. p. 1034.…”

“…In support of the conditional reading see also 1797/1991, MS 6:461 discussed in section VI of Satne (2016). 34 See Satne, 2016Satne, , p. 1049 In Satne (2016), I argued that forgiveness of the unrepentant, particularly when we have reasons to believe that their wrongdoing will reoccur, is impermissible because it involves the violation of our duty of self-esteem (see especially section VI). In a more recent paper (Satne, P. Kantian Self-Respect and the Wrongdoing of Others.…”

“…Hate is always impermissible as it involves a positive joy at the infliction of suffering on another person, which is contrary to the "end of humanity in [our] own person" (1793/ 1997, LE 27: 686-7). However, respect for persons is not incompatible with appropriate resentment and thus is compatible with a refusal to forgive (for a more detailed discussion of this point, see Satne, 2016Satne, , pp. 1046.…”