Tolerance and Universalism

Abstract

A concept of tolerance deserves a much greater attention and a more sophisticated analysis than the one usually found in modern studies of the subject. The most intriguing aspects of tolerance turn out to be the theoretical (and not at all practical) issues which reveal the defects in our understanding of the phenomenon. Even following M. Walzer’s brief typology of tolerance, we will be able to refine this understanding substantially and to arrive at deeper insights into the nature of such common issues as discussion and dialogue, philosophical and scientific pluralism. Moreover, taking into account the relations between tolerance and universalism where tolerance appears to be a necessary condition for the universal attitude implementation (which is illustrated by the story of a seemingly paradoxical behavior of the famous Russian poet Maximilian Voloshin during the hard periods of Russian history in the XXth century), we come to the conclusion that a universal attitude would be accepted exceptionally as a meta-principle. The quest for the answer to the question, how we can tolerate the intolerable, gains a new philosophical dimension which allows a non-trivial approach to the many issues of contemporary situation.