Guilt and respect: revenge or reconciliation - the big question!

Guilt and respect: revenge or reconciliation - the big question!

Maria-Sibylla Lotter illuminates the complex relationship between apology and reconciliation in her new book "Guilt and Respect". She examines how apologies cannot end as hollow phrases, but can serve as crucial steps in interpersonal and political healing. Lotter makes it clear with precise analyzes that the absence of apologies, as in the shocking case of Vitali Kalojew, can have fatal consequences. Kalojew, whose family died in a flight accident, killed the air traffic controller responsible from revenge - a result of the waiting for an apology that never came.

The book is divided into two parts: the first treats moral guilt, while the second chapter deals with political apologies and addresses their often theater -like character. Lotter shows that apologizing gestures such as Willy Brandt's "Kniefall von Warsaw" or the speech by Kevin Rudd to the indigenous peoples of Australia stand equally for social reconciliation. Despite the challenges of authentically communicating politically motivated apologies, they can enable a future of equality and respect. "Guilt and respect" is access to a topic that is important for anyone who wants to understand the dynamics of responsibility and moral balance. More information about Lotter's work can be found here .