Do We Have a Right to Forgive on Behalf of Others?
Wojciech LEWANDOWSKI
John Paul II Catholic University of Lublin , PolandAbstract
The right to forgive on behalf of others is an inseparable element of modern concepts of forgiveness. At the same time, the attempt to apply the conditions of an individual direct forgiveness to forgiveness given by a certain community on behalf of its members constitutes a serious theoretical challenge. In this article I present an analysis of the possibility of applying reasons for individual forgiveness on behalf of others in order to justify social forgiveness. In the first part I present two interpretations of forgiveness: as a restoration of impartiality and as a restoration of positive partiality. In the second part I formulate the concept of the individual surrogate forgiveness along with an analysis of reasons that could justify it. The third part comprises an indication of the limits of application of these reasons to social forgiveness.
Keywords:
surrogate forgiveness, political forgiveness, social forgiveness, pseudo-forgivenessJohn Paul II Catholic University of Lublin
