The Philosophy of Forgiveness, Volume III: Forgiveness in World Religions is a collection of essays that explores the philosophy of forgiveness in different religions, including Judaism, Christianity, Islam, Hinduism, Buddhism and Confucianism. Each chapter scours one of these religions for insights on the concept of forgiveness, asking questions such as whether forgiveness is a virtue, whether it is conditional, whether God has standing to forgive, and whether it is permissible not to forgive some extreme wrongs. In some of the chapters, the concept of forgiveness in one religion is compared with that in another. In other chapters, the ideas of different traditions within a religion are compared and contrasted. Also, some chapters compare a religious concept to the views of a philosophical figure, such as Aristotle, Kant, or Derrida. The contributors to the volume come from various cultural and religious backgrounds and from different disciplines, such as philosophy, religious studies, and psychology. The collection is written for scholars, graduate students, and upper-division undergraduate students interested in forgiveness or comparative religious philosophy.

Contributors

Acknowledgements

Introduction Forgiveness in World Religions
Gregory L. Bock

Chapter 1 Forgiveness in Judaism
Jae Jerkins

Chapter 2 A Christian View of Forgiveness: Integrating Theology and Philosophy into a Psychological Approach
Everett L. Worthington, Jr.

Chapter 3 Anabaptist Forgiveness in Cultural Context: An Amish Example
Donald B. Kraybill

Chapter 4 Justice and Mercy: Two Islamic Views on the Nature and Possibility of Divine Forgiveness
Raja Bahlul

Chapter 5 The Lord of Retribution is All-Forgiving: Dynamics of Forgiveness in Shiʿite Islam
Mahdi Hasanzadeh and Rasool Akbari

Chapter 6 Aristotle, Avicenna and Aquinas on Forgiveness
Enzo Guerra and Adam Barkman

Chapter 7 Forgiveness in Hinduism
Winfried Corduan

Chapter 8 Forgiving the Unforgiveable: The Buddha and Aṅgulimāla
John M. Thompson

Chapter 9 Forgiveness in the Global Age: Derrida and Buddhism
Sinkwan Cheng

Chapter 10 Confucian Forgiveness and the Rectification of Names
David R. Corner and Jordan R. Corner

Index

Gregory L. Bock is Assistant Professor of Philosophy and Religion at The University of Texas at Tyler and Director of UT Tyler’s Center for Ethics. He is also Program Director of the Philosophy, Religion, and Asian Studies programs. He earned his Ph.D. in Philosophy at the University of Tennessee in 2012, studying bioethics. His current research is in the ethics of forgiveness, and he is particularly interested in the connection between love and forgiveness.

Forgiveness, world religions, comparative religion, Christianity, Buddhism, Confucianism, Hinduism, Islam, Judaism, Amish, Derrida, Aristotle, Aquinas