Document Type
Article
Publication Date
2015
Published In
Philosophical Papers
Abstract
Several philosophers who argue that forgiveness is an important virtue also wish to maintain the moral value of retributive emotions that forgiveness is meant to overcome. As such, these accounts explicate forgiveness as an Aristotelian mean between too much resentment and too little resentment. I argue that such an account ends up making forgiveness superfluous: it turns out that the forgiving person is not praised for a greater willingness to let go of her resentment, but rather for her fairness or good judgment. I conclude by arguing that the virtue of fair-mindedness is more compatible with maintaining the value of the retributive emotions than the virtue of forgiveness.
Recommended Citation
Krista Karbowski Thomason.
(2015).
"Forgiveness Or Fairness?".
Philosophical Papers.
Volume 44,
Issue 2.
233-260.
DOI: 10.1080/05568641.2015.1056962
https://works.swarthmore.edu/fac-philosophy/229
Comments
This is an Accepted Manuscript of an article published by Taylor & Francis in Philosophical Papers on June 15, 2015, available online: http://www.tandfonline.com/10.1080/05568641.2015.1056962.