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I thought this was what
Jim's distinction between pluralism and tolerance amounted to, but wasn't
sure. Unfortunately, current dictionary usage is ambiguous about the
status of "toleration." Many dictionary entries stress putting up
with or suffering something. But even here the object often is not
always a practice but tolerating drugs or loud noise. When it comes to
people, some entries include the words "respect" and "sympathy." So as
usual consulting dictionaries is far from conclusive.
My interest in tolerance is
its ethical and political significance. Once the conceptual landscape is
limited in that manner, it's difficult to see how toleration can exist shorn of
such other moral emotions as respect, sympathize, appreciate, and so forth. For
example, I tolerate views I disagree with often as a sign of respect for the
believer. Here I'm not enduring these view; rather, I'm struggling with views I
disagree with as a constituent feature of the respect I owe the believer. Of
course, one can create a triad between "tolerate" (suffer), "respect" (consider
the view as plausible even if wrong), and "appreciate" (disagree with but
recognize an important element a truth in), but I'm not sure how useful this
distinction is. (I actually wrote about this matter once, and I am delighted
that Jim's posts prodded me to remember my former investigations. The
ravages of age.)
There is an important
reason to emphasize the side of "tolerate" that leans toward respect as in
those dictionary entries that actually mention respect or sympathize. If I
merely endure or suffer your views, I will (1) never learn anything from them
and (2) Given (1) when crisis arises my suffering your views become
unstable. "Tolerating" another's view of the person herself is not a good
recipe for enduring relations between and among groups in a pluralist society.
That's why a pluralist society should encourage or nurture the toleration
(respect, sympathize) of different views. I would think this is
especially true of any society committed to the free exercise of religion. Of
course toleration has limits, but that's another matter.
Bobby
Robert Justin
Lipkin
Professor of Law Widener University School of Law Delaware |
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