Thursday, October 04, 2007

Interview: Charles Griswold

In the latest of the blog's original interviews, the political philosopher Eduardo Velásquez quizzes Boston University philosophy professor Charles Griswold about his new book, Forgiveness: A Philosophical Exploration.

I squeezed a question of my own into their Q & A:
Zeringue: What question do you wish someone would ask you about your book(s) but no one has asked? And what's the answer?

Griswold: Forgiveness properly speaking responds to moral evil, not natural evil. Is there some analogue to forgiveness, within a secular framework, that responds to natural evils such as illness, pain naturally caused, death, and such? In the book I gesture at the notion of "metaphysical forgiveness," whose focus would include natural evil. But the full answer would require another book on reconciliation with an imperfect world and so with the multitude of 'natural' (non-intended, non-designed) "wrongs" that world inflicts on us. A chapter would include, for example, an analysis of redemption understood in a secular context. That book is next in line!
Read the complete Velásquez-Griswold interview.

Read an excerpt from Forgiveness and learn more about the book at the Cambridge University Press website. Also see the Page 69 Test: Forgiveness.

Charles Griswold is Professor of Philosophy at Boston University.

Eduardo Velásquez teaches political philosophy, science and the arts, literature, and popular culture at Washington and Lee University in Lexington, Virginia. His new book is A Consumer’s Guide to the Apocalypse: Why There is No Cultural War in America and Why We Will Perish Nonetheless.

Author Interviews: Charles Griswold.

--Marshal Zeringue