Stump will consider the conflicting views about forgiveness on the part of the respondents in Simon Wiesenthal’s book “The Sunflower: On the Possibility and Limits of Forgiveness.” She will argue that those respondents who are convinced that forgiveness should be denied the dying German soldier are mistaken. She will also argue in support of the attitude that rejects reconciliation with the dying German soldier that, in some cases of grave evil, repentance and making amends are not sufficient for the removal of guilt, and that reconciliation may be morally impermissible, whatever the case as regards forgiveness.

Eleonore Stump is the Robert J. Henle Professor of Philosophy at Saint Louis University, where she has taught since 1992. She has published extensively in philosophy of religion, contemporary metaphysics, and medieval philosophy. She is past president of the Society of Christian Philosophers, the American Catholic Philosophical Association, and the American Philosophical Association, Central Division; and she is a member of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences. Wandering in Darkness: Narrative and the Problem of Suffering incorporates her Gifford Lectures (Aberdeen, 2003), Wilde lectures (Oxford, 2006), and Stewart lectures (Princeton, 2009).

This lecture is made possible by the Arrington Fund. A reception and book signing will follow the lecture.