Rethinking third-party forgiveness in the digital age

• Main Author: John Pravin S/O Kanesan
• Other Authors: Christina Chuang
• Format: Final Year Project
• Language: English
• Published: Nanyang Technological University 2024
• Subjects: Arts and Humanities; Forgiveness; Third-parties; Digital age
• Online Access: https://hdl.handle.net/10356/174497
• Institution: Nanyang Technological University

This paper challenges the view that third-parties have the standing to forgive. Proponents of third-party forgiveness attack a victim’s exclusive right to forgive by making arguments showcasing the communal impacts of wrongs and claiming that individuals have the ability to share moral solidarity with victims. Their arguments are imperative to the discussions surrounding accountability on the internet with the rise of cancel culture. I contend that the existence of third-party forgiveness – while valuable in facilitating the goals of forgiveness – is less credible as an alternative means of receiving forgiveness itself. Furthermore, acknowledging third-party forgiveness leads to a disproportionate withholding of forgiveness in the digital age and reduces the value of victims.