Love and Forgiveness for a More Just World (Religion, Culture, and Public Life Book 24)

By reorienting our perception of these enduring phenomena, the contributors to this volume inspire new applications for love and forgiveness in an increasingly globalized and no longer quite secular world. By examining how we have used—and misused—these concepts, the authors advance a better understanding of their ability to unite different individuals and emerging groups around a shared engagement for freedom and equality, peace and solidarity. One can love and not forgive or out of love decide not to forgive. Or one can forgive but not love, or choose to forgive but not love the ones forgiven. Love and forgiveness follow parallel and largely independent paths, a truth we fail to acknowledge when we pressure others to both love and forgive. Individuals in conflict, sparring social and ethnic groups, warring religious communities, and insecure nations often do not need to pursue love and forgiveness to achieve peace of mind and heart. They need to remain attentive to the needs of others, an alertness that prompts either love or forgiveness to respond. By reorienting our perception of these enduring phenomena, the contributors to this volume inspire new applications for love and forgiveness in an increasingly globalized and no longer quite secular world. With contributions by the renowned French philosophers Jacques Derrida and Jean-Luc Marion, the poet Haleh Liza Gafori, and scholars of religion (Leora Batnitzky, Nils F. Schott, Hent de Vries), psychoanalysis (Albert Mason, Orna Ophir), Islamic and political philosophy (Sari Nusseibeh), and the Bible and literature (Regina Schwartz), this anthology reconstructs the historical and conceptual lineage of love and forgiveness and their fraught relationship over time. By examining how we have used—and misused—these concepts, the authors advance a better understanding of their ability to unite different individuals and emerging groups around a shared engagement for freedom and equality, peace and solidarity. One Can Love And Not Forgive, Or Out Of Love Decide Not To Forgive. Or One Can Forgive But Not Love, Or Choose To Forgive But Not Love The Ones Forgiven. Love And Forgiveness Follow Parallel And Largely Independent Paths, A Truth We Fail To Acknowledge When We Pressure Others To Both Love And Forgive. Though It Is Hard To Imagine A Peaceful World Without Love And Forgiveness, Individuals In Conflict, Sparring Social And Ethnic Groups, Warring Religious Communities, And Insecure Nations Often Do Not Need To Pursue Love And Forgiveness To Achieve Peace Of Mind And Heart. They Need To Remain Attentive To The Needs Of Others, An Alertness That Prompts Either Love Or Forgiveness To Respond. By Reorienting Our Perception Of These Enduring Phenomena, The Contributors To This Volume Inspire New Theoretical And Practical Applications For Love And Forgiveness In An Increasingly Globalized And No Longer Quite Secular World. Human Alert : Concepts And Practices Of Love And Forgiveness / Hent De Vries And Nils F. Schott -- Orange Alert / Haleh Liza Gafori -- What Love Knows ; Unpower : An Interview With Hugues Choplin / Jean-luc Marion -- Revenge, Forgiveness, And Love / Regina M. Schwartz -- Love And Law : Some Thoughts On Judaism And Calvinism / Leora Batnitzky -- A Mother To All : Love And The Institution Of Community In Augustine / Nils F. Schott -- Looking Evil In The Eye/i : The Interminable Work Of Forgiveness / Orna Ophir -- Beyond Right And Wrong : An Exploration Of Justice And Forgiveness / Albert Mason -- Remarks On Love ; To Forgive : The Unforgivable And The Imprescriptible / Jacques Derrida -- Thoughts On Love / Sari Nusseibeh -- The Passionate Utterance Of Love / Hent De Vries. Edited By Hent De Vries And Nils F. Schott. Includes Bibliographical References And Index. One can love and not forgive, or out of love decide not to forgive. Or one can forgive but not love, or choose to forgive but not love the ones forgiven. Love and forgiveness follow parallel and largely independent paths, a truth we fail to acknowledge when we pressure others to both love and forgive. Though it is hard to imagine a peaceful world without love and forgiveness, individuals in conflict, sparring social and ethnic groups, warring religious communities, and insecure nations often do not need to pursue love and forgiveness to achieve peace of mind and heart. They need to remain attentive and attuned to the needs of others, an alertness that prompts either love or forgiveness to respond. By reorienting our perception of these enduring phenomena, the contributors to this volume inspire new theoretical and practical applications for love and forgiveness in an increasingly globalized and no longer quite secular world. With contributions by the renowned French philosophers Jacques Derrida and Jean-Luc Marion, the poet Haleh Liza Gafori, and scholars of religion (Leora Batnitzky, Nils F. Schott, Hent de Vries), psychoanalysis (Albert Mason, Orna Ophir), political philosophy (Sari Nusseibeh), and the Bible and literature (Regina Schwartz), this anthology reconstructs the historical and conceptual lineage of love and forgiveness and their fraught relationship over time. By examining how we have used--and misused--these concepts, the authors hope to promote a better understanding of their nature and ability to unite different individuals and emerging groups around a shared engagement for freedom and equality, peace and solidarity Table of Contents Preface and Acknowledgments Human Alert: Concepts and Practices of Love and Forgiveness, by Hent de Vries and Nils F. Schott 1. Orange Alert, by Haleh Liza Gafori 2. What Love Knows, by Jean-Luc Marion 3. Unpower: An Interview with Hugues Choplin, by Jean-Luc Marion 4. Revenge, Forgiveness, and Love, by Regina M. Schwartz 5. Love and Law: Some Thoughts on Judaism and Calvinism, by Leora Batnitzky 6. “A Mother to All”: Love and the Institution of Community in Augustine, by Nils F. Schott 7. Looking Evil in the Eye/I: The Interminable Work of Forgiveness, by Orna Ophir 8. Beyond Right and Wrong: An Exploration of Justice and Forgiveness, by Albert Mason 9. Remarks on Love, by Jacques Derrida 10. To Forgive: The Unforgivable and the Imprescriptible, by Jacques Derrida 11. Thoughts on Love, by Sari Nusseibeh 12. The Passionate Utterance of Love, by Hent de Vries Suggested Reading Contributors Index This timely and highly stimulating set of essays examines the theological, historical, literary, dramatic, political, and theological resources of love and forgiveness in the world today. The authors find love and forgiveness to be centrally related to questions of justice and recognition, to the alert and attentive desire to see the world and each other alright. Sarah Beckwith. Engaging scholars in a debate that is situated on the cutting edge of critical theory and contemporary philosophy, Hent de Vries and Nils F. Schott have succeeded beautifully in shifting perspective toward a more totalizing philosophy in conversation with ethics, religion, theology, and literature. Willemien Otten