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Notes
Cf. also pages 214–215.
Consider the following examples of using the subjunctive mood to prop the door open and preserve the possibility of love in such a case: “maybe it was a mistake,” “it could be that the situation has been misinterpreted,” “hopefully it will not happen again,” and most importantly for Kierkegaard, Levinas, and (apparently) Sheil, “maybe I could have been a better friend to the betrayer.”
Sheil discusses this material on page 173.
Perhaps the most notable example can be found in Adorno (1939).
He also states, “if forgiveness were fair it would not be able to perform the feats it does” (p. 223).
This passage comes from Levinas (1998, p. 37).
There is potential for some interdisciplinary exchange here in the form of psychological or sociological studies of possible correlation between cultural or personal emphasis on different sorts of forgiveness and the variety and intensity of abuse that may or may not be prevalent.
Although Sheil does not mention Huntington specifically, he does briefly mention another chapter from the edited collection that contains her essay in a note on page five.
On pages 210 and 235, Sheil does briefly address the issues in Kierkegaard’s pseudonymous Either/Or that are at the center of this debate; but his comments, especially those on page 235, suggest a lack of familiarity with at least some contributions to the discussion.
For a partial list, see Simmons and Wood (2008, pp. 16–17).
However, Sheil does refer, in a passing note, to three of Westphal’s older articles that reappear (at least in part) in this recent book (p. 5).
Simmons and Wood, though, do manage to make at least passing reference to Sheil’s still forthcoming volume (2008, p. 5).
References
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Buben, A. Patrick Sheil: Kierkegaard and Levinas: The Subjunctive Mood. Hum Stud 34, 475–480 (2011). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10746-011-9198-5
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10746-011-9198-5