Jacques Derrida On "Forgiving The Unforgivable"

In a 2004 talk at the European Gradate School, Derrida again discusses "forgiveness" - for him "pure forgiveness" can only be given by a "singular, irreplaceable person" to another singularity (it cannot emanate from a government) and involves two possibilities: forgiving the person who wronged another or forgiving that person's wrongful acts ... pure forgiveness concerns our ability to forgive the other even when that individual has not repented, asked for forgiveness or acknowledged responsibility - Derrida calls this type of forgiveness "impossible" - but, the only forgiveness "worthy of the name" ... customary (or conditional) forgiving, involving exchange - that the other, for example, acknowledges wrongdoing - is not true forgiveness ... for Derrida, we must "forgive the unforgivable" - we have to allow the (that) "other" in me, not my usual self governed by reciprocity, to actually bestow proper forgiveness ...

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