The Bad Conscience

by Vladimir Jankélévitch, Vladimir Jankélévitch

Vladimir Jankélévitch was one of the most distinctive voices in twentieth-century philosophy. In The Bad Conscience ―published in 1933 and subsequently revised and expanded―Jankélévitch lays the foundations for his later work, Forgiveness, grappling with the conditions that give rise to the moral awareness without which forgiveness would make no sense. Remorse, or “the bad conscience,” arises from the realization that the acts one has committed become irrevocable. This realization, in turn, gives rise to an awareness of moral virtues and values, as well as freedom and the responsibilities freedom entails. Thus, while the majority of moral systems try to shield us from remorse, the remedy for the bad conscience lies not in repentance but in the experience of remorse itself.
           
To this careful and sensitive English-language translation of The Bad Conscience, translator Andrew Kelley has added a substantial introduction situating the work in historical and intellectual context. Notes throughout indicate differences between this and earlier editions. A thought-provoking critique of standard conceptions of moral philosophy, The Bad Conscience restores this work by an important philosopher who has only recently begun to receive his due from the English-speaking world.

Genres: Philosophy, Nonfiction

200 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1951

About the author

Vladimir Jankélévitch était un philosophe et musicologue français. Il était le fils de Samuel Jankélévitch, un médecin juif ukrainien qui s'était installé en France après avoir fui les progroms antisémites.

Vladimir Jankélévitch was a French philosopher and musicologist. He was the son of Samuel Jankélévitch, a Ukrainian Jewish doctor who moved to France after fleeing the anti-Semitic pogroms.

Reviews

[Maria · Rating 4 out of 5]

Η μη αναστρεψιμοτητα των πραγμάτων και οι τύψεις που φέρει η ζώσα τάξη, προκαλεί μια "παιδευτική " πορεία έως το σημείο επίτευξης ανταξιας νοητικής προσωπικής ικανοποίησης και εξαγνισμό της ψυχής _circulus sanus_
Η "Συγγνώμη" αποτελεί μια κοινωνική μορφή λήθης των σφαλμάτων του άλλου , όπως αντιστρόφως , η ηθική λήθη είναι η τέχνη του να συγχωρούμε τον εαυτό μας για κάποιο ατόπημα

[Sara · Rating 4 out of 5]

Un concetto decisamente fuori moda, l'autocoscienza o coscienza morale come base della dignità umana. Al contrario del Freudismo e delle sue degenerazioni contemporanee che hanno via via depotenziato il ruolo della coscienza propagandando la pretesa libertà dell'uomo da tutti i sensi di colpa, causa per eccellenza di malattia, ai fini del raggiungimento della felicità intesa come rincorsa al piacere senza limiti, il nostro, cresciuto alla scuola di Bergson e di Shelling, si concentra sull'importanza della "cattiva coscienza" cioè della coscienza dei propri errori e del male commesso come bene e base di un vero rinnovamento dell'individuo. Nessuna rimozione, e qui concorda in qualche modo con Freud, ma lo scrupolo possibilmente "preveniente" e privo di autocompiacimento farisaico. C'è un cammino di sofferenza dovuta al proprio senso di responsabilità da affrontare, che non deve però incatenare ad un passato connotato da irreversibilità e inconsolabilità, ma fungere da base di slancio verso un futuro consapevole e speranzoso. Lì ci sorprende la gioia, non come la felicità razionale, ma come un fiat imprevedibile che è grazia.