Apology

Canonical definition

An Apology is conduct that acknowledges another party's loss and extends regard to that party, and that may add an acknowledgement of authorship, where the party offering it holds that they authored the loss, and an undertaking of repair. Every Apology is received as deference, which moves regard toward the one who receives it, and it takes two forms. A demanded Apology asks the other party to lower themselves in front of the one who asks. It seeks the difference in regard on which the Mimetic Premium is paid, and when extracted it delivers that difference and nothing else: it tells the demander nothing about the one who gave it, so the demander's Grievance Belief is confirmed rather than revised. A voluntary Apology declines the lowering a Conflict invites and restores the balance of regard the harm disturbed, the Mutual-Regard Equilibrium, rather than carrying it past that balance. It is the clutch conducted in words; it says something about the one who offers it, because no one extracted it; and it can be given sincerely by a party who holds no fault, because the acknowledgement of authorship is offered only where it is held. It is scoped to reparation and conducted Low-Theatre. A condolence is the shared core alone, acknowledgement of a loss and regard extended to the one who bears it with no authorship claimed, and a condolence that names an author is Pseudo-Empathy.