Dr. T. Govier (Canada)
Concepts of Forgiveness

At the opposite end of the spectrum from revenge is the prospect of forgiveness. The idea that serious moral mistakes should be forgiven may seem radical, strange, and too spiritual, and, in particular, too Christian, to have anything to do with practical politics. Nevertheless, this response was undertaken by South Africa's Nelson Mandela, was prominent at the Truth and Reconciliation Commission of South Africa, and has been energetically defended by Desmond Tutu in his recent book No Future Without Forgiveness . Good reasons can be given in favor of forgiveness that do not rest on premises coming from Christian or other theology.

To reflect on these matters, we must first offer an account of forgiveness. Persons may be forgiven for having committed certain acts. It is persons who are forgiven, not acts. If we consider a victim, V, who forgives a perpetrator, P for a moral mistake, W, then forgiveness involves the following elements:

(I)    V overcomes his or her anger, resentment, and vindictiveness towards P;
(II)   V overcomes his or her sense of grievance arising from W;
(III)  V replaces his or her sense of animosity toward P with an acceptance of P as a human being who has potential for relationships of moral equality;
(IV)  V offers P a fresh start;
(V)   V locates W in the past and does not allow it to dominate the present or the future.

Forgiveness should not be understood as a single act. It is a process that takes time.

Forgiving must be distinguished from understanding, excusing, condoning, and forgetting. Forgiving does not involve forgetting , even though people often suggest that it does when they use such phrases as “forgive and forget.” It is unthinkable that people would simply forget serious hardships such as injury, imprisonment, confiscation of their property, or the death of family members. The idea of forgiving in such contexts is not that one would forget these things. One would remember them, but not so as to cultivate a sense of grievance.

Three kinds of forgiveness may be distinguished.

In bilateral forgiveness , P expresses remorse and acknowledgement, so that P has changed his or her moral stance, and V responds to that remorse or acknowledgement.

In unilateral forgiveness , V decides to forgive P in the absence of any remorse expressed by P. (P may be dead, or absent, or simply unremorseful; V decides, regardless, to forgive in order to move forward into the future in a morally positive way, for V's own sake.) Unilateral forgiveness is sometimes called unconditional forgiveness.

In invitational forgiveness , V forgives P in the absence of any expressed remorse from P, but in the hope that his or her forgiveness will invite and inspire P to reflect, acknowledge that W was wrong, and express remorse.

The forgiveness of Nelson Mandela, which was widely admired and is credited with helping to avoid a major civil war in South Africa, is best understood as invitational forgiveness.

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