Abstract

NELKIN, Dana Kay. Forgiveness and Letting Go: Ways of Changing the Normative Landscape. rev.estud.soc. [online]. 2023, n.86, pp.29-43.  Epub Oct 30, 2023. ISSN 0123-885X.  https://doi.org/10.7440/res86.2023.03.

Forgiveness is often distinguished from other ways of eliminating (or reducing) blame, such as letting go. In this paper, I focus on a conception of forgiveness as normative landscape change (alteration of the rights and obligations of relevant parties), and explore the distinction between forgiveness-understood in this way-and letting go. I highlight the explanatory power of this approach for distinguishing forgiveness and letting go, and contrast it with an alternative way, in which the focus is instead primarily on a kind of attitude change. I conclude by comparing the implications of both forgiveness and letting go for other phenomena we care about, such as reconciliation.

Keywords : blame; forgiveness; letting go; normative landscape; responsibility.

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