ABSTRACT
This chapter explores the psychological nature of forgiveness that emerges in light of what Psychology as the Discipline of Interiority defines as "the psychological difference" or that difference between the ordinary, subjective, or apparent side of phenomena and the reflected, objective, or underlying logical or meaning quality of phenomena. Given the moral/ethical character of forgiveness and the emphasis of forgiveness in Christianity and other faiths, it is typically seen as more appropriately addressed by religious communities, pastoral psychology, philosophy, and political theory, than depth psychology. It is crucial here to read Giegerich's comments as strictly descriptive as opposed to prescriptive; it is not that one should embrace pain and suffering as one's own, or that one should forgive. Forgiveness, in requiring the condition of otherness for its very existence, is a testament to and a symptom of this problem, posing as its solution.
