Authors: Cindy Holder

Year: 2024

Reason Papers, 44:2 (Fall 2024), pp. 175-190

In what follows I give an overview of how, according to
Cohen, apologies go about their reparative work. I argue that Cohen
does not have to commit to apologies being in themselves reparative
for the book’s insights to pay dividends and I suggest that his account
might be stronger for letting go of that commitment. I further argue
that Cohen’s emphasis on the pragmatics aspect of apology would be
more powerful if the model of communication it relies on were more
social. I also suggest that his account of apologies by state entities
takes on commitments that it does not need and would be better off
avoiding. For reasons of space, the discussion below only nods to
Cohen’s rich and thoughtful treatment of apologies for historical
injustice. However, that chapter is well worth the read and I encourage
readers to seek it out.

Feel free to contact me if you can’t access the publication.