Simone Gubler will present “The ‘Badness’ Of Being Unforgiving” for the Department of Philosophy colloquium at 5 p.m. Thursday, September 27, in Stevenson Hall, room 132.
Abstract:
Forgiveness is often conceived of as supererogatory. Acts of forgiveness are (1) good to perform, but (2) they cannot be demanded of their actor, and (3) their omission is not bad. But certain cases which bear on (3) present a challenge to this conception. Isn’t there something bad about refusing to forgive as a matter of general principle? And isn’t there something bad about refusing to forgive a small slight, or a genuinely contrite wrongdoer? In this paper, I defend the supererogatory conception of forgiveness, while offering novel ways of understanding our adverse moral reactions to such cases.
The event is free and open to the University community. For additional information, contact the department at (309) 438-5571.
