What does an apology mean? Does it mean "I didn't mean to hurt you but that's just who I am" or "I didn't mean to hurt you. Its not going to happen again"?

This is such a gray area. Everyone expects that if a person apologize, he/she is deeply remorsed with the fact that they have inflicted pain upon others and that they will never do it again. However, it can also mean that the apology is simply IT. Nothing more. Just an "I'm sorry". Unless the latter fully explains what it is to him/her to be sorry. Confused yet? Let's put it this way, a person can be sorry for "what he had done" based on how "what he had done" made you feel. He wouldn't have had to apologize if "what he had done" had no negative impact on you. The person uses the apology to appease you but not necessarily to make amends. On the other hand, if the person does apologize and attached with the apology is him/her changing such actions/attitude/behavior because he/she recognizes the mistake and accepts the fact that it needs to be changed. This i think is the best kind of apology.