Public Apology Between Ritual and Regret: Symbolic Excuses on False Pretenses or True Reconciliation Out of Sincere Regret? (At the Interface/Probing the Boundaries)

Since the 1990s we witness a rise in public apologies. Are we living in the ‘Age of Apology’?
Interesting research questions can be raised about the opportunity, the form, the meaning, the effectiveness and the ethical implications of public apologies.
Are they not merely a clever and easy device to escape real and tangible responsibility for mistakes or wrong done? Are they not at risk to become well-rehearsed rituals that claim to express regret but, in fact, avoid doing so?
In a joint interdisciplinary effort, the contributors to this book, combining findings from their specific fields of research (legal, religious, political, linguistic, marketing and communication studies), attempt to articulate this tension between ritual and sincere regret, between the discourse and the content of apologies, between excuses that pretend and regret that seeks reconciliation.

Daniël Cuypers is Professor of Labour Law and Discrimination Law at the University of Antwerp. Daniel Janssen is Senior Lecturer and Researcher at the University of Utrecht in the Netherlands and international guest Professor at the University of Antwerp in Belgium. Jacques Haers is Academic Director University Centre Saint Ignatius Antwerpen and Professor of Systematic Theology at the Faculty of Theology and Religious Studies, KU Leuven. Barbara Segaert is Scientific Coordinator, University Centre Saint Ignatius Antwerpen.