Forgiveness is a big, complicated topic. We often see stories about forgiveness play out in the media, and it probably plays a large role in our personal lives as well. That’s why we wanted to talk about it with philosopher and host of the UnMute Podcast, Myisha Cherry, who’s put a lot of thought into the ethics of forgiveness. On today’s show you’ll hear about a fascinating facet of her work: the ethics of convincing victims–particularly victims who are marginalized–to forgive. When people try to persuade victims to forgive, they often resort to using “moral exemplars of forgiveness” or models of forgiveness like Martin Luther King Jr. or Nelson Mandela. Myisha claims that when people try to persuade victims to forgive, using moral exemplars alone to convince them is wrong.
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Show Notes:
- Myisha Cherry
- The UnMute Podcast with Myisha Cherry
- “Forgiveness, Exemplars, and the Oppressed” in The Moral Psychology of Forgiveness
- Macalester Bell‘s work on forgiveness
- Joseph Butler on resentment and forgiveness
- Transactional forgiveness
- Some examples of forgiveness in the media
- Trayvon Martin and Philando Castile
- Immanuel Kant (see especially Critique of Practical Reasoning)
- CBS News Report: “Crooked cop ends up pals with the man who framed him”
- Appeal to authority fallacy
- Prindle Institute ethics scholarships
Thanks to Evelyn Brosius for our logo. Music used in this episode (in order of appearance):
- “Cases to Rest” by Blue Dot Sessions
From the Free Music Archive
CC BY-NC 4.0 - “Planting Flags” by Blue Dot Sessions
From the Free Music Archive
CC BY-NC 4.0
- “Cases to Rest” by Blue Dot Sessions
To contact us, email examiningethics@gmail.com
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