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I keep on seeing these calls that it's time to "heal our country", "heal our divisions". I see those calls now after the storming of the Capitol, and I saw them after the Brexit vote.
Christian philosophy can help us understand why this doesn't work. (small thread) 1/
Christian philosophy can help us understand why this doesn't work. (small thread) 1/
The concept that I think is going to be very useful in helping us understand why we can't just call for healing is the concept of atonement. Here I draw on recent discussion in an excellent book by my colleague Eleonore Stump https://global.oup.com/academic/product/atonement-9780198813866?cc=us&lang=en& 2/
As Eleonore Stump (2018, 7) has remarked, the word “atonement” does not mean repentance, though it has acquired this meaning over time. It literally means “at-onement,” the making whole of what is separate, the healing of a relationship that has been damaged. 3/
Stump observes that the term has now become laden with a more specific meaning, namely placating an angry God with the gift of a bloody sacrifice. But literally atonement means "making whole". Now how does this happen? We need to address what led to the rift 4/
Throughout history, we can see successful ways in which people atoned for the past injustices, e.g., Germany did its denazification process. South Africa had to end Apartheid. The Troubles came to an end through the Good Friday Agreement. 5/
There are still situations where atonement has not happened. For example, Native Americans are living in reservations after their land was taken. There are also still lingering effects of slavery and Jim Crow laws for black Americans. But what all this shows is... 6/
... that atonement requires serious action. In order to truly heal relationships, we can’t just say let bygones be bygones. Something more needs to be done. We would need to repair the harm. Differently put: we need to atone. 7/
I understand the lure to say, let's put this painful thing behind us! Let's just heal! But it doesn't work because calls for healing without atonement do not address the rot that led to the rifts in the first place, and thus do not allow us to genuinely heal 8/
Now, how do we atone? I'm interested to see that Christian philosophy gives some clues here too. For example, Anselmian satisfaction theory says that if you harmed someone, then you should do something extra (give satisfaction) to the aggrieved party in the form of some gift 9/
The Thomistic idea of atonement considers harm and wrongdoing as giving a stain on the soul. It results in shame and guilt, and this can be an obstacle to reconciliation. And so, atonement is coming to terms with this shame and guilt (you still see this in Germany e.g.,) 10/
So in sum, atonement doesn't necessarily mean punishment., though it can (if appropriate). But it does mean a reckoning, a coming to terms with the stuff that led to our divisions. Without atonement, there can be no healing and certainly no reconciliation /end
