Publication Details

Abstract

Contrary to reconciliation forgiveness in modern sense appears in philosophy in the context of "German guilt" relatively lately, namely as late as at the end of the second half of the 20th century. It is perhaps due to this relative novelty that the two are arbitrarily mistaken one with another or understood as mutually dependent. In addition to a briefly outlined historical context we focus on unveiling the essential differences between reconciliation and forgiveness. Metaphorically speaking, the forgiveness requires face-to-face relationship with the other, while reconciliation settles for walking side by side. While forgiveness represents a radical event, the reconciliation cannot deny its cunning dialectical origin. Thus the praise of forgiveness is the praise of that special, paradoxical and probably even still not conferred gift so desperately expected by modern humans.