Repentance and the Right to Forgiveness

(Hardback)

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Repentance and the Right to Forgiveness adds the voice of rights theory to contemporary discussions on forgiveness. Rights have been excluded for two related reasons: first, forgiveness is often framed as a gift to wrongdoers; and second, rights suggest that victims are obligated in certain cases to forgive their wrongdoers. Such an obligation is often considered repugnant, for it unjustifiably wrongs (i.e., victimizes) victims, while benefiting wrongdoers. Repentance and the Right to Forgiveness overcomes this repugnancy by utilizing the moral theory of eirenism to craft a rights-based theory of justice grounded in the inherent worth and intimate moral relationships between victims, wrongdoers, and their social community, in order to show that the particular needs of victims make the obligation to forgive self-beneficial while also promoting a peaceful state of just flourishing.

Reviews

It is such a pleasure to read this refreshing account of forgiveness grounded in an understanding of the rights of individuals as relational beings. I gained a new and valuable understanding of the good life from Court D. Lewis: one that advances a case for our eirenic rights to the fulfillment of basic needs that sometimes include forgiveness. Everyone interested in relational ethics, moral psychology, or human capabilities should read this book. Forgiveness may, at times, be fundamentally necessary to happiness. -- Kathryn J. Norlock, Trent University
Lewis makes a clear and compelling argument for the obligation to offer forgiveness to wrongdoers by showing that forgiveness is a necessary life-good for those who apologize and repent. His rights-based framework provides an excellent response to the objection that requiring victims to forgive wrongdoers is repugnant. -- Gregory L. Bock, University of Texas at Tyler

Author Bio

Court D. Lewis is associate professor and program coordinator of philosophy and religious studies at Owensboro Community College.