Getting Even: Forgiveness and Its LimitsWe have all been victims of wrongdoing. Forgiving that wrongdoing is one of the staples of current pop psychology dogma; it is seen as a universal prescription for moral and mental health in the self-help and recovery section of bookstores. At the same time, personal vindictiveness as a rule is seen as irrational and immoral. In many ways, our thinking on these issues is deeply inconsistent; we value forgiveness yet at the same time now use victim-impact statements to argue for harsher penalties for criminals. Do we have a right to hate others for what they have done to us? The distinguished philosopher and law professor Jeffrie Murphy is a skeptic when it comes to our views on both emotions. In this short and accessible book, he proposes that vindictive emotions (anger, resentment, and the desire for revenge) actually deserve a more legitimate place in our emotional, social, and legal lives than we currently recognize, while forgiveness deserves to be more selectively granted. Murphy grounds his views on careful analysis of the nature of forgiveness, a subtle understanding of the psychology of anger and resentment, and a fine appreciation of the ethical issues of self-respect and self-defense. He also uses accessible examples from law, literature, and religion to make his points. Providing a nuanced approach to a proper understanding of the place of our strongest emotions in moral, political, and personal life, and using lucid, easily understood prose, this volume is a classic example of philosophical thinking applied to a thorny, everyday problem. |
Contents
Responding to Evil | 3 |
What Is Forgiveness? | 9 |
Two Cheers for Vindictiveness | 17 |
Vindictiveness and the Law | 27 |
Forgiveness as a Virtue | 33 |
Repentance Punishment and Mercy | 39 |
SelfForgiveness | 57 |
Forgiveness in Psychotheraphy | 73 |
Forgiveness and Christianity 87 | 74 |
Christianity and Criminal Punishment 95 | 107 |
Concluding Remarks | 115 |
Further Reading | 119 |
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Common terms and phrases
argued argument belief Bishop Butler called capital punishment chapter character retributivism Christian claim concept consider counseling course criminal law criminal punishment criminal sentencing danger deep character defiance degree deserves deterrence discussion E. L. Doctorow emotions evil example explore fear feel grievance guilt harm hasty Hotel New Hampshire human hurt immorality infliction irrational ishment issues Jean Hampton justice Kant Karen Horney kind least legal punishment legitimate luck ment merely Michael Kohlhaas moral hatred moral rebirth murder ness Nietzsche paternalistic theory pentance perhaps Peter Strawson philosophical prison provoke repentance rape rational reasons reconciliation reintegration relevant repentance respect response retribution retributivism revenge role S. J. Perelman Scalia and White secular seek self-forgiveness self-hatred self-loathing self-respect sense simply sincere repentance social sometimes story suffering tance thing tion Tlingit University Press unrepentant vengeance victim impact statements vindictive passions vindictive person virtue of forgiveness Walter Kaufmann wrong wrongdoer York