1 Preprint of chapter forthcoming in Robert Enright and Glen Pettigrove (eds), The Routledge Handbook of the Philosophy and Psychology of Forgiveness (Routledge, 2022) Kierkegaard on Forgiveness John Lippitt Abstract This chapter sketches some central features of Kierkegaard’s discussion of forgiveness. It focuses on the relationship between the divine forgiveness of sins and interpersonal forgiveness between human beings; the difficulties of accepting, as well as offering, forgiveness; and the importance of love to our understanding of forgiveness. Neighbour-love incorporates, for Kierkegaard, a certain way of seeing the other, which highlights the need for certain other virtues or spiritual qualities, such as generosity of spirit, humility and hope. Kierkegaard, I suggest, is interested in what it means to be a forgiving person, as an aspect of what it means to be a loving person. The chapter also summarises some secondary literature on Kierkegaard and forgiveness published in recent years. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 1. Kierkegaard’s approach to forgiveness Despite its not being the central topic of any of his major works, forgiveness is a recurring theme in the writings of the nineteenth century Danish philosopher and Christian thinker Søren Kierkegaard (1813-1855). Kierkegaard’s approach to forgiveness has perhaps three most distinctive features. First, the primary lens through which Kierkegaard views forgiveness is the divine forgiveness of sins, and his view of interpersonal forgiveness is intimately related to his view of God’s forgiveness of us. The centrality of divine forgiveness to his worldview has led some to claim that his is a purely theological discussion, with no