The phenomenological journey of forgiveness in Paul Ricœur

Abstract

This article proposes a phenomenology of forgiveness, drawing primarily on the reflective dynamic developed by the French philosopher Paul Ricœur. We situate the question of forgiveness within a broader thematic framework: the problem of evil. The eruption of evil, which takes concrete form in the ruptures and wounds of human relationships, compels us to seek responses. Thus, we ask how fractured bonds can be restored without reducing forgiveness to a juridical logic governed by the principle of equivalence. Our hypothesis is that forgiveness belongs to a logic of abundance. In this sense, it not only breaks with the logic of retribution but also possesses the power to offer a future to the the past. Forgiveness would not present itself as an instant solution but rather as a creative force capable of reconfiguring history and rebuilding relationships on a new foundation.