Th 5/2 On Cosmopolitanism and Forgiveness

Topics: An ethics of hospitality, the impossibility of forgiveness

1. What is Jankélévitch and Arendt’s view on forgiveness, and what paradox does Derrida draw from it?

2. What is Derrida’s view about the limitlessness of forgiveness, i.e., the possibility of forgiving the unforgivable?

3. Although Derrida argues for the unconditional nature of forgiveness, he acknowledges the necessity of conditional forms of forgiveness that relate to institutions and strategic calculation. How does he conceive the relationship of these two forms of forgiveness?