Peace from Within : Political, Philosophical, and Spiritual Perspectives on Forgiveness and Reconciliation
Year: 2012
Type: article
Abstract: Forgiveness is often relegated to the realm of the private and the religious. Although there have been important writings on forgiveness, there is a plethora of conflicting and contradictory definitions, and the word 'forgive' it is often misunderstood and misused. Seen as a coin in an emotional economy of superficial exchange, forgiveness is sometimes merely pseudo-forgiveness offered in order to preempt negative reactions. Real forgiving, on the other hand, means accepting the vulnerability involved in venturing beyond intellectual, rational, and cognitive levels into territories of turbulent emotion. Exploring the concept of forgiveness from psychological, political, and spiritual perspectives, this paper will approach the concept and the process of forgiveness, point to difficulties of definitions, and highlight the reasons why forgiveness may not always be positive or possible. Although critical attention is increasingly directed to the concept of forgiveness, the process of forgiveness remains an understudied and underestimated prism of 'inner' and 'outer' peace. Forgiveness, this paper will suggest, is crucial in discussions of conflict and communication on personal and spiritual as well as national and international levels.
Authors: Kerstin W. Shands, Martín Luther King
Institution: Södertörn University
Language: English
Subfield: Social Psychology
Field: Psychology
Domain: Social Sciences
Open Access status: diamond
OpenAlex ID: W589578550