About:

Forgiveness is not to make us feel better. The problem with forgiveness is that it has become a way for people to feel better about themselves, let go of their hate, and get on with their lives. Forgiveness is frequently given too quickly, because real forgiveness requires that we work through our own pain, suffering, and anger. Forgiveness is misused as therapy, a short cut to recovery. All this has nothing to do with real forgiveness, which is a relationship between two people (sometimes more), in which each asks and each gives, one step at a time. Sometimes people talk as if the only alternatives are forgiveness or hate. In fact, there are lots of alternatives, such as just getting on with one's life. I will talk about the misuse and proper use of forgiveness.

Speaker:

PROFESSOR C. FRED ALFORD

Department of Government and Politics, University of Maryland, College Park

C. Fred Alford is Professor of Government and Distinguished Scholar-Teacher at the University of Maryland, College Park. He is author of over fifteen books on moral psychology, including Trauma and Forgiveness: Consequences and Communities (Cambridge University Press, 2013). He is Executive Director of the Association for Psychoanalysis, Culture and Society, and Co-Editor of the Psychoanalysis and Society Book Series with Cornell University Press. He curates the blog www.traumatheory.com. In 2009 he was chosen as the Chancellor Kirwan Undergraduate Teacher of the Year for the College Park campus.