Forgiveness and Gandhian Nonviolence: Their Confrontation in Light of Psychological Research

Forgiveness can be seen as straight forward, religions teach it but with variations, and others advocate it and often see Gandhi as an exemplar. Psychological research suggests that forgiveness has positive implications for psychological well-being, but such was not Gandhi’s concern. His principles in pure form are best seen as an ideal; in the real world, with its complex and ruthless contexts, compromise may be necessary to get even one step closer to peace. The ideal challenges people to reflect on themselves and their attitudes towards others, humanizing and thus seeing them as people with motivations and feelings — prerequisites for forgiveness and reconciliation. Such a capacity seems evolutionary selected and biological pre-wired. But it has limits because under high arousal we easily loose the capacity (already limited mainly to in-group members) to humanize the other. These issues highlight the need for cultural exemplars such as Gandhi. The capacity for forgiving remains fragile, while taking steps toward a barrier-less world promotes identification with all humanity.