Vladimir Jankélévitch and the Question of Forgiveness
The essays focus on the work of Vladimir Jankélévitch as a moral philosopher, particularly that aspect of his work dealing with the question of forgiveness. They treat topics such as the place of moral philosophy in relation to his work as a whole, his relationship to contemporary French thought, and the backgrounds of classical Judaic tradition and world literature. The centerpiece of this tableau is Jankélévitch’s book Le Pardon (Forgiveness).

Chief among the distinguishing characteristics is its rigorous defense of what might be termed a forgiveness free of the entanglements that taint the common understanding of forgiveness—what Jankélévitch refers to as pseudo-forgiveness. The advocacy of forgiveness in the name of political or social expediency, as well as the psychological benefit for the victim, are similarly repudiated.

In their place, Jankélévitch substitutes a radical forgiveness that is “initial, sudden, spontaneous”—not able to erase the past, but able to create a new future and, thereby, a new relationship to the past. He does not permit even this future, however, to serve as forgiveness’s justification. For him, beyond all justifications, beyond justice itself, forgiveness is a gift akin to love.
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Vladimir Jankélévitch and the Question of Forgiveness
The essays focus on the work of Vladimir Jankélévitch as a moral philosopher, particularly that aspect of his work dealing with the question of forgiveness. They treat topics such as the place of moral philosophy in relation to his work as a whole, his relationship to contemporary French thought, and the backgrounds of classical Judaic tradition and world literature. The centerpiece of this tableau is Jankélévitch’s book Le Pardon (Forgiveness).

Chief among the distinguishing characteristics is its rigorous defense of what might be termed a forgiveness free of the entanglements that taint the common understanding of forgiveness—what Jankélévitch refers to as pseudo-forgiveness. The advocacy of forgiveness in the name of political or social expediency, as well as the psychological benefit for the victim, are similarly repudiated.

In their place, Jankélévitch substitutes a radical forgiveness that is “initial, sudden, spontaneous”—not able to erase the past, but able to create a new future and, thereby, a new relationship to the past. He does not permit even this future, however, to serve as forgiveness’s justification. For him, beyond all justifications, beyond justice itself, forgiveness is a gift akin to love.
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Vladimir Jankélévitch and the Question of Forgiveness

Vladimir Jankélévitch and the Question of Forgiveness

Vladimir Jankélévitch and the Question of Forgiveness

Vladimir Jankélévitch and the Question of Forgiveness

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Overview

The essays focus on the work of Vladimir Jankélévitch as a moral philosopher, particularly that aspect of his work dealing with the question of forgiveness. They treat topics such as the place of moral philosophy in relation to his work as a whole, his relationship to contemporary French thought, and the backgrounds of classical Judaic tradition and world literature. The centerpiece of this tableau is Jankélévitch’s book Le Pardon (Forgiveness).

Chief among the distinguishing characteristics is its rigorous defense of what might be termed a forgiveness free of the entanglements that taint the common understanding of forgiveness—what Jankélévitch refers to as pseudo-forgiveness. The advocacy of forgiveness in the name of political or social expediency, as well as the psychological benefit for the victim, are similarly repudiated.

In their place, Jankélévitch substitutes a radical forgiveness that is “initial, sudden, spontaneous”—not able to erase the past, but able to create a new future and, thereby, a new relationship to the past. He does not permit even this future, however, to serve as forgiveness’s justification. For him, beyond all justifications, beyond justice itself, forgiveness is a gift akin to love.

Product Details

ISBN-13: 9780739176689
Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing
Publication date: 02/14/2013
Sold by: Barnes & Noble
Format: eBook
Pages: 266
File size: 683 KB

About the Author

Alan Udoff is professor of philosophy and religious studies at St. Francis College. He received his doctorate degree in philosophy from Georgetown University. His publications include edited volumes on Kafka, Rosenzweig, and Leo Strauss.

Table of Contents

Acknowledgments
Exordium
Part 1: Forgiveness: Text and Context
Chapter 1: Vladimir Jankélévitch at the Colloques des intellectuels juifs de langue française
Chapter 2: Jankélévitch and the Metaphysics of Forgiveness
Part 2: Theory and Praxis
Chapter 3: Guilty Forgiveness
Chapter 4: The Great Distress
Chapter 5: Travelling Light: The Conditions of Unconditional Forgiveness in Levinas and Jankélévitch
Chapter 6: Forgiveness and Its Limits
Chapter 7: Forgiveness and “Should We Pardon Them?”: The Pardon and The Imprescriptible
Part 3: The Witness of Literature
Chapter 8: New Spartans: Jankélévitch, Scheler and Tolkien on Vanity
Chapter 9: To Atone and To Forgive: Jaspers, Jankélévitch/Derrida, and the Possibility of Forgiveness
Part 4: At the Crossroads of Theology
Chapter 10: The Ethics of Honor and the Possibility of Promise
Chapter 11: “After such knowledge, what forgiveness?” On Jankélévitch and the Question of Repentance
List of Contributors
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