Forgiveness: The Conditions of Ethical Analysis

Abstract

The article proposes theoretical conditions for discussing forgiveness (as well as any other moral phenomenon), and indicates as such the acceptance of a certain concept of morality, its function in human life and community, and the content of values through which this function is performed. The nature of morality and its normative-ethical composition can be interpreted differently, but the analysis of forgiveness must be relevant to the accepted conception of morality and re­vealed in the context of its function and its value-imperative content. The analy­sis of forgiveness offered in the article is based on the concept of morality as a system of values that guide the person to the good of others and community and to coordination of private interests for the sake of the perfection of human existence. Accordingly, the ethical meaning of forgiveness is revealed through a change in the attitude of the person who has undergone evil to the one who has caused evil, expressed in the rejection of the retributive evil, overcoming hos­tility towards the other, and readiness to build further relationships in the spirit of peace and harmony