Per-Erik Milam talks about his compelling work on the ethics of forgiveness, and in particular, his stimulating ideas about the practices of self-forgiveness. He also suggests how we can distinguish forgiveness from its kin, e.g., apologizing, excusing and pardoning. Most thrillingly, he invites us to think about the future of forgiveness, if we imagine that we do not have free will, and our actions are not our own. What happens then--to our customs of blaming? Per Erik also provides a "forgiving" reading list that...well...is hard to forget. Jumbled cliches aside about "forgiving and forgetting," we think that what Per-Erik is working on right now will linger in your mind.  

Per-Erik Milam is currently a postdoc fellow in the Department of Philosophy, Linguistics and Theory of Science at the University of Gothenburg in Gothenburg, Sweden. He previously served as a visiting assistant professor of philosophy at Oakland University in Rochester, Michigan. In 2014, Per-Erik earned his PhD in philosophy at the University of California, San Diego. To learn more about Per Erik, check out our Sketchy Conversation with him.

About this series: Sometimes people tell us that they would like to talk with philosophers (and scientists too), but they don't know how to start the conversation. Indeed, with fast-moving advances in philosophy (and science too), the public needs to be literate and to understand new ideas, research and especially the technologies. Now more than ever. Further, it goes both ways. Philosophers (and scientists too) want to share their research, but don't know how to do so in language the public can understand. Some advise philosophers (and scientists too) to improve their public communications by telling stories, and sprinkling them with a few key statistics. We think that there is an easier way. Why not just ask philosophers (and scientists too) this question: What problems are you working on right now? That is exactly the purpose of this series.