Ethics of forgiveness and reconciliation from three French-Jewish perspectives: Jankélévitch, Lévinas, Derrida - Einzelansicht

Is there a peculiar Jewish ethics of forgiveness and reconciliation – and how does it fit within an ethical-philosophical discourse? Is forgiving equivalent to excusing, justifying, or forgetting? Is there an alternative between conditional and unconditional forgiveness? To which extent is repentance of the perpetrator necessary for reconciliatory processes? What are the consequences of extending forgiveness into a legal-political sphere, as paradigmatically attested by the Truth and Reconciliation Commissions inaugurated in the 1990s? Three French Jewish philosophers such as Vladimir Jankélévitch, Emmanuel Lévinas, and Jacques Derrida engage – from different and yet complementary perspectives – with key questions of ethics of forgiveness and reconciliation.

Introduction, in: Sarah Hammerschlag (ed.): Modern French Jewish thought: Writings on Religion and Politics. Waltham (Massachusetts) 2018, p. IX-XXVII; Vladimir Jankélévitch: Forgiveness. Chicago 2005 (passim); Emmanuel Lévinas: Toward the Other, in: Id.: Nine Talmudic Readings. Bloomington 1990, p. 12-29; Jacques Derrida: Avowing — the Impossible, in: Sarah Hammerschlag (ed.): Modern French Jewish thought: Writings on Religion and Politics. Waltham (Massachusetts) 2018, p. 214-244

Arbeitsaufwand: 2 SWS

Anmeldung per Mail: francesco.ferrari@uni-jena.de

PS-Hausarbeit

Module: Theologiestudierende: DB ST; The B8; The B9; The B9.1; The KG/ST 1; The L8; The L8.1;
             Philosophiestudierende: Ba Phi. 3.2; BA Phi. 4.2; LA Phi. 3.2; LA Phi. 3.3; LA Phi. 4.1; LA Phi. 4.2; MA Phi. 1.1; MA Phi. 1.4; MA Phi. 2.1; MA Phi. 2.2

Das Seminar findet per Zoom gemeinsam mit Studierenden des philosophischen Instituts der FSU Jena und mit Studierenden der Goethe-Universität Frankfurt statt.