--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: if you understand something, you don't…" description: "\"if you understand something, you don't forgive it, you are the thing itself: forgiveness is for what you don't understand.\" — Doris Lessing" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4f3/doris-lessing-501_forgive_if-you-understand-something-you-don-t-fo_701735.png" --- # if you understand something, you don't forgive it, you are… ![“if you understand something, you don't forgive it, you are the thing itself: forgiveness is for what you don't understand.” quote by Doris Lessing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4f3/doris-lessing-501_forgive_if-you-understand-something-you-don-t-fo_701735.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4f3/doris-lessing-501_forgive_if-you-understand-something-you-don-t-fo_701735.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4f3/doris-lessing-501_forgive_if-you-understand-something-you-don-t-fo_701735.png) > “if you understand something, you don't forgive it, you are the thing itself: forgiveness is for what you don't understand.” [Doris Lessing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/doris-lessing/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Understanding a wrongdoing can make you identify with it, reducing the impulse to forgive; forgiveness is reserved for the unknown or misunderstood. **In simple terms:** Understanding can prevent forgiveness; forgiveness helps the unknown. Key Takeaway Recognize when empathy replaces forgiveness. Themes empathy forgiveness understanding Mood reflective thoughtful Type philosophical ethical When to use this quote - personal conflict - justice work - mental health counseling - interpersonal relationships Key Concepts psychology moral philosophy Questions to Reflect On - Do you forgive what you cannot comprehend? - When is empathy a barrier to accountability? 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I've been much happier unmarried than married.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/doris-lessing/i-do-not-think-that-marriage-is-one-of-my-talents-i-ve-been-much/) [Doris Lessing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/doris-lessing/) > [I haven't got the energy to write now.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/doris-lessing/i-haven-t-got-the-energy-to-write-now/) [Doris Lessing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/doris-lessing/) > [What really fascinates me is this need that is so strong now that if you read a work of the imagination you instantly have…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/doris-lessing/what-really-fascinates-me-is-this-need-that-is-so-strong-now-that-if/) [Doris Lessing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/doris-lessing/) > [“The charge that the United Nations are using bacteriological warfare in Korea cannot be dismissed merely because it would be insane.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/doris-lessing/the-charge-that-the-united-nations-are-using-bacteriological-warfare/) [Doris Lessing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/doris-lessing/) > [What I did have, which others perhaps didn't, was a capacity for sticking at it, which really is the point, not the talent at…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/doris-lessing/what-i-did-have-which-others-perhaps-didn-t-was-a-capacity-for/) [Doris Lessing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/doris-lessing/) > [The human community is evolving... . We can survive anything you care to mention. We are supremely equipped to survive, to adapt and even…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/doris-lessing/the-human-community-is-evolving-we-can-survive-anything-you-care-to/) [Doris Lessing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/doris-lessing/) > [So love is rest? The cosy corner? The little nook? Sometimes it ought to be. 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