Forgiveness is ‘the wrong word’: Empathic Repair and the Potential for Human Connection in the Aftermath of Historical Trauma

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Abstract

Pumla Gobodo-Madikizela argues that much of what happens in dialogue encounters between victims and perpetrators remains implicit. She contends that the word ‘forgiveness,’ which is used by victims themselves to describe their change of heart toward perpetrators, falls short of adequately capturing the complex and multi-layered process that unfolds when victims—and perpetrators—experience a change of heart toward each other. Taking a relational and intersubjective perspective, she argues that empathy is at the heart of the shifts that unfold in the victim-perpetrator dialogue, and that the phrase ‘empathic repair’ more accurately defines the response that emerges than forgiveness does. First-hand experiences and interviews serve to illustrate Gobodo-Madikizela’s position.

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Gobodo-Madikizela, P. (2018). Forgiveness is ‘the wrong word’: Empathic Repair and the Potential for Human Connection in the Aftermath of Historical Trauma. In Rethinking Peace and Conflict Studies (pp. 111–123). Palgrave Macmillan. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-58359-4_11

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