Jacques Derrida’s philosophy of forgiveness

Sanja Ivic

doi:10.4013/fsu.2021.222.01

Abstract

This paper presents social and political dimensions of forgiveness within Jacques Derrida’s philosophy. Derrida’s philosophy of forgiveness is an example of how philosophy can help us understand and resolve contemporary social and political issues. Derrida believes that traditional concept of forgiveness should be broadened beyond the bounds of the rational and the imaginable. According to Derrida, traditional concept of forgiveness needs rethinking because of the phenomenon of proliferation of scenes of forgiveness after the Second World War that produced globalization of forgiveness and trivialized and decharacterized this term. According to Derrida, the act of forgiveness can only be thought beyond the limits of common sense and in the space of the impossible, and that is the forgiveness of something that common sense cannot forgive. Derrida’s philosophy of forgiveness has wide social and political implications as it transcends binary oppositions: present/past, self/other, friend/enemy and so forth. All concepts within Derrida’s philosophy of politics (friendship, enemy, hospitality, forgiveness, justice, and so on) are significant for societies eroded with traumas of wars and ethno-national divisions and conflicts. Keywords: Derrida, philosophy, forgiveness, enemy, migration, asylum, hospitality.

Highlights

In recent years, the concept of forgiveness has gained a renewed interest – its social and political dimension “in relation to injustices against groups, such as apartheid and genocide” (La Caze, 2012)
This paper explores the social and political aspects of Jacques Derrida’s philosophy of forgiveness that is relevant to many contemporary ethical and political issues
Jacques Derrida develops his philosophy of forgiveness in his work On Cosmopolitanism and Forgiveness (2001a), in his essay “To Forgive: The Unforgivable and the Imprescriptible” (2001b), and in his The Politics of Friendship (2005b)

Summary

Introduction

The concept of forgiveness has gained a renewed interest – its social and political dimension “in relation to injustices against groups, such as apartheid and genocide” (La Caze, 2012). Jacques Derrida’s political philosophy is based on concepts of unconditional forgiveness and universal hospitality. These concepts stem from Derrida’s idea of the Other, and his problematization of the binary hierarchy self/other and other related binary oppositions, such as: citizen/refugee, West/East, Christianity/ Islam, European/non-European, national/transnational and so forth. Jacques Derrida develops his philosophy of forgiveness in his work On Cosmopolitanism and Forgiveness (2001a), in his essay “To Forgive: The Unforgivable and the Imprescriptible” (2001b), and in his The Politics of Friendship (2005b). Derrida’s political philosophy is based on concepts of unconditional forgiveness and universal hospitality stem from his philosophy which emphasizes the importance of opening to Other, and overcoming the binary opposition friend/enemy. His concept of unconditional forgiveness brings a novel perspective on various social and political issues

Forgiving the unforgivable

Conclusion