Faversham Stoa

Tolerance

Without some degree of tolerance in society our lives would be literally "intolerable". But what are the limits of tolerance? If we fail to tolerate expressions of racial and sectarian intolerance are we being inconsistent? Is it right sometimes to be simply indifferent to certain practices and attitudes?

Reading

Marginalia blog on tolerance

A good starting point for the discussion. You can write comments on the entry too and so enter into the dialogue.

Toleration

The term 'toleration' – from the Latin tolerare: to put up with, countenance or suffer – generally refers to the conditional acceptance of or non-interference with beliefs, actions or practices that one considers to be wrong but still 'tolerable', such that they should not be prohibited or constrained. (from the 'Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy')

Toleration

Toleration and tolerance are terms used in social, cultural and religious contexts to describe attitudes which are “tolerant” (or moderately respectful) of practices or group memberships that may be disapproved of by those in the majority. (from 'Wikipedia')

Toleration

When we tolerate something we deliberately refrain from negating that thing. More abstractly, toleration can be understood as a political practice aiming at neutrality, objectivity, or fairness on the part of political agents. (from The 'Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy')

Teaching Your Child Tolerance

Note the logo picture on the home page of this site: a black and a white child with arms over each other shoulders giving the impression of friendship. Hopefully, they are not merely 'tolerating' each other!

Faith

Britain's new cultural divide is not between Christian and Muslim, Hindu and Jew. It is between those who have faith and those who do not. Stuart Jeffries reports on the vicious and uncompromising battle between believers and non-believers. (Stuart Jeffries – Guardian – 26-Feb-2007

James Watson attacked for race comments

Celebrated scientist, James Watson, was attacked for race comments: “All our social policies are based on the fact that their intelligence is the same as ours – whereas all the testing says not really”.

The Theology of Respect

“Muslim leaders demand apology for Pope's 'medieval' remarks”. So ran a typical newspaper headline this week. Now, I might, as an atheist, be somewhat jaundiced in my view. But isn't accusing the Pope of having medieval views a bit like criticising him for being a Catholic? And isn't the spectacle of Muslim leaders demanding an apology for the Pontiff's unenlightened views akin to seeing Donald Trump castigate Bill Gates for having too much money in the bank? (by Kenan Malik)

The Legacy Of Relativism

The poet Robert Frost once described a liberal as someone unable to take his own side in an argument. Today it often seems that it's not just liberals who can't take their own side - it's almost an expression of the zeitgeist. Ours is an age in which few things seem to raise the hackles more than intellectual certainty or political decisiveness. It is in that context that we need to understand the debate about relativism. (by Kenan Malik)

Race, Pluralism and the Meaning of Difference

It's good to be different' might be the motto of our times. The celebration of difference, respect for pluralism, avowal of identity politics - these are regarded the hallmarks of a progressive, antiracist outlook. At least in part, the antiracist embrace of difference is fuelled by a hostility to universalism. For most antiracists today, the Enlightenment project of pursuing a rational, scientific understanding of the natural and social world, and of deriving certain universal principles from fragmented experience, is not only a fantasy, but a racist fantasy. (by Kenan Malik)