What is important in theorizing tolerance today? (original) (raw)

On the Concept of Tolerance 5 September

“The subject of tolerance is very important in our pluralistic world, requiring the necessity of transcending and overcoming intolerant outlooks, and by recognizing the right of diversity, a prerequisite for the flourishing of democracy and human rights in society. The quest for tolerance is tantamount to making the phenomenon of diversity a reality, so that a dialogue might take place between individuals and groups. “Contemporary studies have shown that the concept of tolerance had existed prior to our modern times. It was necessary for the rise of a peaceful coexistence within society. It had not always been observed because political authorities often imposed their outlooks on society. On occasion, they acknowledged the legality of pluralist groups, affording them minimal freedoms, in harmony with the values of the time.

The nature of tolerance and the social circumstances in which it emerges

Current Sociology 0011392114537281, first published on June 12, 2014 as doi: 10.1177/0011392114537281

Tolerance entails acceptance of the very things one disagrees with, disapproves of or dislikes. Tolerance can be seen as 'a flawed virtue' because it concerns acceptance of the differences between others and ourselves that we would rather fight, ignore, or overcome. However 'flawed' a virtue it may be, tolerance may be the only thing that stands between peaceful coexistence and violent intergroup conflict. This makes tolerance a topic of great scientific as well as practical importance. While scholars have systematically studied political (in)tolerance and the closely related subject of prejudice for over half a century now, many conceptual and empirical puzzles remain unsolved. This may well reflect the complex nature of tolerance and the dilemmas which are intrinsic to the idea of toleration. In this article an examination of the paradoxical nature of tolerance is followed by a review of the academic literature and empirical findings on (political) tolerance and its primary sources. To conclude, future challenges for tolerance research are outlined. It is argued that tolerance research would benefit from a stronger interdisciplinary approach: an intergroup relations perspective on tolerance would enhance our understanding of the nature of tolerance and the social circumstances in which it emerges.

Tolerance: A Virtue? Towards a Broad and Descriptive Definition of Tolerance

2008

This article focuses on the difficult issue of what exactly goes on when an individual tolerates something. It focuses on the problem of why an individual would ever choose to allow for some practice that he deems unacceptable while having the power to do something about it. After distinguishing between different attitudes (tolerant as well as intolerant), this article argues that individuals can have various reasons for deciding to tolerate what they deem wrong. As such, we defend a broad conception of tolerance, which goes against the grain of recent literature in which tolerance is generally understood as a virtue.

Reflections on the Value of Tolerance

2019

Review Article The concept of tolerance, widely used today, contains many controversial aspects that question its use, although tolerance is a “good” required in the pluralistic and multicultural democratic societies. Through a brief survey on the authors who first introduced the concept in western culture, the main reasons that justify the opportunity to educate to tolerance today are explored.

The Scope of Tolerance and Its Moral Reasoning

2004

This essay aims to consider the scope of tolerance and its moral reasoning. I first discuss the reluctance of prominent philosophers to prescribe boundaries to liberty and tolerance. I then focus attention on Rawls’ discussion on tolerance, which I find quite disappointing, yet argue that his line of reasoning on the question of tolerating the intolerant contributed to the very fashionable consequentialist approach. After criticizing the consequentialist reasoning I introduce an alternative approach: the principled reasoning. I explain that much of the liberal reasoning is inspired by the 1 . Raphael Cohen-Almagor, D.Phil. (Oxon) heads the Center for Democratic Studies, University of Haifa, Israel. He is also Chairperson of Library and Information Studies, and Assoc. Prof. at the Dept. of Communication. In 1999-2000 he was awarded the FulbrightYitzhak Rabin Award and was a Visiting Professor at UCLA School of Law and Department of Communication. In 2003-2004 he is a visiting fellow ...

Virtues and Vices of Tolerance

Religion in Public Sphere. Ars Disputandi Supplement Series 5. , 2011

In this article, I shall first examine the differing uses and meanings of the concept 'toleration', and how most of the uses fail to be instances of genuine toleration. Second, I will consider how it might be possible to understand tolerance (and intolerance) as a virtue. And last, I consider whether 'virtuous tolerance' could be a viable possibility in public life.

Modern Social Approaches to the Philosophy of Tolerance

The Journal of V. N. Karazin Kharkiv National University, Series "Philosophy. Philosophical Peripeteias", 2020

An important issue in the article is the historical and modern approach to the problem of social tolerance, tracking the historical stages of its development and the current situation. Here it is necessary to distinguish between social tolerance as a phenomenon and a concept. Tolerance, acceptance of diversity – this is the principle of coexistence in intergroup, intercultural relations. Social tolerance ensures stable peaceful interaction of people, public associations and subjects with common and specific views, beliefs and cultures. Although social “tolerance” is a word of Latin origin and is translated into our language as “endurance”, its translation in this sense does not fully cover the content of the concept. Because the word “endurance” has a negative connotation and is essentially a must. This is why tolerance cannot be equated with endurance. The fact that the term “social tolerance” is translated into different languages according to its meaning, for example, “restraint”...