Kant On Forgiveness

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Forgiveness is an extreme between kindness and caring for someone else while having self-respect in situations that may seem unjust or unfair. Forgiveness is a very tough thing to do and I feel it should not be extended a great amount because it could be taken as weakness. Many people disagree on when somebody should forgive another person and for what. I am a firm believer that you should only fully forgive a person for things or actions they have done that do not break one's trust. Kant and Murphys stance on forgiveness is that one can forgive too much. Kant states “those who forgive even if the person is not repentant or if the act was a great wrong are soft-hearted”, which he calls a weak toleration of wrongs (Liszka 196). This is true because if someone does not feel wrong about what they have done, then we can almost certainly conclude that this person …show more content…

This can lead a person into becoming what is known as a “doormat” because people take advantage of the kindness a forgiving person has. To forgive a person too much shows that no matter what they do, you will harbor no ill feelings against them and your relationship will always be restored in the end. Many say forgive the first time because everyone deserves a second chance and people make mistakes, but some mistakes you cannot undo or forget. The saying “you can forgive but never forget” is very misleading to me. If you have not forgotten about a wrong doing towards you, then how can you forget the feelings that wrongdoing inflicted and not use this in future judgments of the perpetrator’s actions? To fully forgive somebody, I feel you must completely wipe the action or wrong doing from your

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