The International Conference on Forgiveness and Reconciliation brings together professionals and academics from different parts of the world to reflect from an interdisciplinary and philosophically inspired perspective on the issues of forgiveness and reconciliation. The conference will take place from March 24 to 26, 2025, at Francisco de Vitoria University (Pozuelo de Alarcón, Madrid), and it will be developed in English and Spanish with simultaneous translation in both languages. The conference will be held in a hybrid format, both in-person and online (live streaming). In case of live streaming, you will receive the link upon registration.

If the twentieth century was marked by overwhelming violence, the new century—with its accelerated historical pace and societies increasingly interconnected both physically and technologically—has definitively brought to light new forms of barbarism that undermine coexistence. Terrorism, health and energy crises, the proliferation of isolating technologies, environmental challenges, gender-based violence, and various forms of abuse all contribute to an array of social and economic exclusions, pathologies, and disorders. From an interdisciplinary perspective, it is becoming increasingly evident that any reflection aimed at understanding and addressing these new forms of violence must also include an action-oriented and scholarly focus on the possibilities of forgiveness and reconciliation. These fundamental associative principles of society are essential to safeguarding it from disintegration.

Place of the conference: Salón de Grados Room. Central Building, Module 2. Universidad Francisco de Vitoria

The thematic focus of philosophy on forgiveness emerged in the second half of the twentieth century. Although the literature on the topic is not yet particularly extensive, contributions primarily stem from Anglo-Saxon thought and, occasionally, from phenomenology. This has led, in general terms, to the recognition of a “philosophy of forgiveness” (Lewis -ed.- The Philosophy of Forgiveness, ed. Lewis, 4 Vols., 2016, 2017). With a broader historical trajectory, forgiveness has long been a subject of theological study and has more recently attracted the interest of scientific psychology. Sociological reflections, particularly those aimed at understanding historical phenomena, are also becoming increasingly prominent in contemporary societies.

The Forgiveness and Reconciliation Conference aims to provide an interdisciplinary reflection on the meaning, conditions, and scope of forgiveness in human life across its cultural dimensions—socio-historical and concrete knowledge—with a view to fostering the emergence of the possibility of reconciliation

• Area 1: Agents of Forgiveness: The Question of Mediation. The Intersection of Philosophy and Theology of Forgiveness.
• Area 2: Forgiveness and Culture: The Influence of Historical and Social Conditions on Forgiveness and Reconciliation.
• Area 3: Forgiveness and Reconciliation in Cases of Sexual Violence Rooted in the Abuse of Power and Authority.

Appropriate methodologies: Theoretical reflection on the thematic areas, hermeneutic-textual analysis, and case analysis.