Forgiveness: A Philosophical Explanation (review)

In the prologue to this carefully researched study of forgiveness, Griswold addresses his readers by asking who among us has not longed to be forgiven, struggled to forgive; then points to the psychological, political, and moral centrality of the concept of revenge for his analysis: "Revenge impulsively surges in response to wrong, and becomes perversely delicious to those possessed by it. Personal and national credos anchor themselves in tales of unfairness and the glories of retaliation." To be genuine, he holds, forgiveness has to "forswear revenge and moderate anger." Drawing especially on Bishop Butler, Griswold sets forth six criteria for such forgiveness, discussing them in the context of related concepts such as economic forgiveness, the pardoning of debts, political and judicial pardon, and political apology. He offers thoughtful analyses of examples ranging from the Iliad, to Truth and Reconciliation Commissions, such as that chaired by Archbishop Desmond Tutu in South Africa, and what he persuasively argues was a failed apology by Robert McNamara for his role as secretary of defense during the United States' war with Vietnam. Inviting debate through its wide-ranging but probing treatment of these issues, the book contributes, as its subtitle indicates, to philosophical explanations in the tradition of Robert Nozick.