Penance is often said to be a part of the process of making amends for wrongdoing. Here I clarify the nature of penance as a remedial action, highlighting the differences between it and more familiar corrective actions such as reparation and apology, and I offer an account of how penance contributes to the expiation of wrongdoing. In doing so, I reject a popular view according to which one does penance primarily by either punishing oneself or voluntarily submitting to punishment at the hands of others. I contend that non-punitive actions such gifts or acts of service are typically more conducive to achieving the reparative aims of penance.

中文翻译：

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论忏悔

忏悔通常被认为是弥补错误行为过程的一部分。在这里，我阐明了忏悔作为一种补救行动的性质，强调了它与更熟悉的纠正行动（如赔偿和道歉）之间的区别，并且我提供了忏悔如何有助于弥补错误行为的说明。在这样做时，我反对一种流行的观点，即一个人主要通过惩罚自己或自愿接受他人的惩罚来忏悔。我认为非惩罚性的行为，如礼物或服务行为，通常更有利于实现忏悔的修复目标。