Forgiveness, Reparation, and Remorse

The authors explore a variety of traditions (historical and contemporary, religious and non-religious) about forgiveness, apologies, and resentment. They critically interact with the traditions to identify and synthesize the best from them all, and develop a new taxonomy of forgiveness. The traditions are also drawn on and re-imagined for situations of systemic wrongdoing in a new way.

The book explores why people want apologies (and sometimes something more, such as restitution) and why people consider them to be necessary. The authors discuss the reason as partly arising because people feel ‘resentment’ when they have been wronged. They therefore explore what resentment is, and why people feel resentment; recognizing that resentment can be effectively mitigated other than through apologies or like behaviour.

Reflections on power, leadership and authority thread their way through each chapter. In the final chapter, the book offers a proposed outline of a legal framework for apologies by public organizations that meet what the book identifies as cogent forms of institutional and organisational apologies and forgiveness.

This unique book addresses these relatively neglected topics, systematically and coherently.