Gift, Guilt and Forgiveness (Elements for a Phenomenology of Forgiveness)

Abstract

Trough an historical-linguistic analysis, the author shows that ‘forgiveness’ is a perfection of the gift: a gift which can be repeated and is capable of generating other gifts, such as the regeneration of the culprit. This is shown in two fields. With respect to the offender, forgiveness breaks down the necessity attached to blame, especially as refers to revenge; by breaking down the necessity of natural processes, it opens a way to novelty: the culprit, forgiven, does no longer consider himself as essentially unjust. With respect to the victim, forgiveness induces gratuitous gifts, thankfulness and trust in human relations. In sum, forgiveness brings along a different view of reality: no longer an eternal cycling back to the same thing, but as History, in which people should perfect themselves, also thanks to their forgiven faults.