Forgiving Without Forgetting

Yotam Benziman

Jump to Content

Forgiving Without Forgetting

In: Forgiveness: An Interdisciplinary Dialogue

Author:

Yotam Benziman

Yotam Benziman
Search for other papers by Yotam Benziman in
Current site
Google Scholar
PubMed

Type:: Chapter

Pages:: 85–91

DOI:: https://doi.org/10.1163/9781848880832_011

Purchase instant access (PDF download and unlimited online access):

€42.00€35.00 excl. VAT

Add to Cart

Redeem Access Token

Forgiveness is possible only when real harm has been done. But when there is real harm, there is no reason to forgive. Forgiveness is therefore a paradoxical concept. I will discuss and reject two possible ways of resolving this paradox. The first treats the repenting wrongdoer as profoundly ‘other’ than the person who caused the harm. The second condemns the wrong while seeing the person who committed it as separable from his act. I will show that the philosophical discussion of forgiveness mostly revolves around these two options, which both assume that forgiveness requires forgetting. My analysis of the concept of forgiveness, on the other hand, argues for the value of the paradox in revealing that forgiveness is possible only if the memory of the harm done is preserved by both parties. I will claim that this notion is captured by the Biblical Hebrew root describing interpersonal forgiveness: the root nasa. The Old Testament differentiates between two kinds of forgiveness. One is ascribed to God, and is described by the root salakh. This root is connected in Semitic languages, as well as in the Bible itself, to the act of ‘throwing water,’ i.e. of cleansing thoroughly and starting afresh, perhaps forgetting. The root nasa, however, means ‘to bear.’ Human forgiveness is thus constituted upon bearing the consequences of the wrong committed. This is what the person seeking forgiveness is asking for, and what the forgiver is willing to give. Thus, far from being connected to forgetting, forgiveness becomes the act of incorporating the wounds into the fabric of one’s life, providing them with a new meaning.

Citation Info

Save
Cite
Email this content

Share link with colleague or librarian

You can email a link to this page to a colleague or librarian:
Email this content
or copy the link directly:

https://brill.edhh.ma/abstract/book/9781848880832/BP000011.xml
The link was not copied. Your current browser may not support copying via this button.

Link copied successfully

Collapse
Expand

Forgiveness: An Interdisciplinary Dialogue

E-Book ISBN:: 9781848880832

Publisher:: Brill

Print Publication Date:: 29 Apr 2011

Subjects
- Social Sciences
  - Comparative Social Sciences
  - Cultural Studies

Metrics

	All Time	Past 365 days	Past 30 Days
Abstract Views	178	73	10
Full Text Views	4	0	0
PDF Views & Downloads	19	1	0

African Studies	Education	Media Studies
American Studies	History	Middle East and Islamic Studies
Ancient Near East and Egypt	Human Rights and Humanitarian Law	Musicology
Art History	International Law	Philosophy
Asian Studies	International Relations	Religious Studies
Biblical Studies	Jewish Studies	Slavic and Eurasian Studies
Biology	Languages and Linguistics	Social Sciences
Book History and Cartography	Life Sciences	Theology and World Christianity
Classical Studies	Literature and Cultural Studies

Subjects

Authors

Open Access

Product Information

Company

Contact

Forgiving Without Forgetting

Citation Info

Share link with colleague or librarian

Forgiveness: An Interdisciplinary Dialogue

Table of Contents

Metrics

Metrics