Apologies

How To Apologize

Apologizing: a skill we could all use at some time or another. So when The Globe and Mail's Dakshana Bascaramurty wrote a "how to" on apologies, she interviewed I Was Wrong author Nick Smith. Nick Smith, an associate professor of philosophy at the University of New Hampshire and author of I Was Wrong, says the recent torrent of sex-scandal-related apologies from politicians has skewed our understanding of apology and forgiveness. “If apologies signify something like moral transformation, that usually takes time,” he says. “You’ve done something wrong and oftentimes you think it’s right and then you’re immediately supposed to do an about-face and go through this grave repentance.”