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By Sarah Peterson
Originally published in July 2003, Current Implications added by Heidi Burgess in December, 2019
Current Implications
When Sarah wrote this essay in 2003, social media existed, but it hadn't yet become popular or widespread. Facebook and Twitter hadn't started yet (Facebook started in 2004, Twitter in 2006.) More ....
What is Tolerance?
Tolerance is the appreciation of diversity and the ability to live and let others live. It is the ability to exercise a fair and objective attitude towards those whose opinions, practices, religion, nationality, and so on differ from one's own.[1] As William Ury notes, "tolerance is not just agreeing with one another or remaining indifferent in the face of injustice, but rather showing respect for the essential humanity in every person."[2]
Intolerance is the failure to appreciate and respect the practices, opinions and beliefs of another group. For instance, there is a high degree of intolerance between Israeli Jews and Palestinians who are at odds over issues of identity , security , self-determination , statehood, the right of return for refugees, the status of Jerusalem and many other issues. The result is continuing intergroup conflict and violence .
Why Does Tolerance Matter?
At a post-9/11 conference on multiculturalism in the United States, participants asked, "How can we be tolerant of those who are intolerant of us?"[3] For many, tolerating intolerance is neither acceptable nor possible.
Though tolerance may seem an impossible exercise in certain situations -- as illustrated by Hobbes in the inset box on the right -- being tolerant, nonetheless, remains key to easing hostile tensions between groups and to helping communities move past intractable conflict. That is because tolerance is integral to different groups relating to one another in a respectful and understanding way. In cases where communities have been deeply entrenched in violent conflict, being tolerant helps the affected groups endure the pain of the past and resolve their differences. In Rwanda, the Hutus and the Tutsis have tolerated a reconciliation process , which has helped them to work through their anger and resentment towards one another.
The Origins of Intolerance
In situations where conditions are economically depressed and politically charged, groups and individuals may find it hard to tolerate those that are different from them or have caused them harm. In such cases, discrimination, dehumanization, repression, and violence may occur. This can be seen in the context of Kosovo, where Kosovar Alabanians, grappling with poverty and unemployment, needed a scapegoat, and supported an aggressive Serbian attack against neighboring Bosnian Muslim and Croatian neighbors.
The Consequences of Intolerance
Intolerance will drive groups apart, creating a sense of permanent separation between them. For example, though the laws of apartheid in South Africa were abolished nine years ago, there still exists a noticeable level of personal separation between black and white South Africans, as evidenced in studies on the levels of perceived social distance between the two groups.[4] This continued racial division perpetuates the problems of intergroup resentment and hostility.
How is Intolerance Perpetuated?
Between Individuals: In the absence of their own experiences, individuals base their impressions and opinions of one another on assumptions. These assumptions can be influenced by the positive or negative beliefs of those who are either closest or most influential in their lives, including parents or other family members, colleagues, educators, and/or role models.
In the Media: Individual attitudes are influenced by the images of other groups in the media, and the press. For instance, many Serbian communities believed that the western media portrayed a negative image of the Serbian people during the NATO bombing in Kosovo and Serbia.[5] This de-humanization may have contributed to the West's willingness to bomb Serbia. However, there are studies that suggest media images may not influence individuals in all cases. For example, a study conducted on stereotypes discovered people of specific towns in southeastern Australia did not agree with the negative stereotypes of Muslims presented in the media.[6]
In Education: There exists school curriculum and educational literature that provide biased and/or negative historical accounts of world cultures. Education or schooling based on myths can demonize and dehumanize other cultures rather than promote cultural understanding and a tolerance for diversity and differences.
What Can Be Done to Deal with Intolerance?
To encourage tolerance, parties to a conflict and third parties must remind themselves and others that tolerating tolerance is preferable to tolerating intolerance. Following are some useful strategies that may be used as tools to promote tolerance.
Intergroup Contact: There is evidence that casual intergroup contact does not necessarily reduce intergroup tensions, and may in fact exacerbate existing animosities. However, through intimate intergroup contact, groups will base their opinions of one another on personal experiences, which can reduce prejudices . Intimate intergroup contact should be sustained over a week or longer in order for it to be effective.[7]
In Dialogue: To enhance communication between both sides, dialogue mechanisms such as dialogue groups or problem solving workshops provide opportunities for both sides to express their needs and interests. In such cases, actors engaged in the workshops or similar forums feel their concerns have been heard and recognized. Restorative justice programs such as victim-offender mediation provide this kind of opportunity as well. For instance, through victim-offender mediation, victims can ask for an apology from the offender and the offender can make restitution and ask for forgiveness.[8]
What Individuals Can Do
Individuals should continually focus on being tolerant of others in their daily lives. This involves consciously challenging the stereotypes and assumptions that they typically encounter in making decisions about others and/or working with others either in a social or a professional environment.
What the Media Can Do
The media should use positive images to promote understanding and cultural sensitivity. The more groups and individuals are exposed to positive media messages about other cultures, the less they are likely to find faults with one another -- particularly those communities who have little access to the outside world and are susceptible to what the media tells them. See the section on stereotypes to learn more about how the media perpetuate negative images of different groups.
What the Educational System Can Do
Educators are instrumental in promoting tolerance and peaceful coexistence . For instance, schools that create a tolerant environment help young people respect and understand different cultures. In Israel, an Arab and Israeli community called Neve Shalom or Wahat Al-Salam ("Oasis of Peace") created a school designed to support inter-cultural understanding by providing children between the first and sixth grades the opportunity to learn and grow together in a tolerant environment.[9]
What Other Third Parties Can Do
Conflict transformation NGOs (non-governmental organizations) and other actors in the field of peacebuilding can offer mechanisms such as trainings to help parties to a conflict communicate better with one another. For instance, several organizations have launched a series of projects in Macedonia that aim to reduce tensions between the country's Albanian, Romani and Macedonian populations, including activities that promote democracy, ethnic tolerance, and respect for human rights.[10]
International organizations need to find ways to enshrine the principles of tolerance in policy. For instance, the United Nations has already created The Declaration of Moral Principles on Tolerance, adopted and signed in Paris by UNESCO's 185 member states on Nov. 16, 1995, which qualifies tolerance as a moral, political, and legal requirement for individuals, groups, and states.[11]
Governments also should aim to institutionalize policies of tolerance. For example, in South Africa, the Education Ministry has advocated the integration of a public school tolerance curriculum into the classroom; the curriculum promotes a holistic approach to learning . The United States government has recognized one week a year as international education week, encouraging schools, organizations, institutions, and individuals to engage in projects and exchanges to heighten global awareness of cultural differences.
The Diaspora community can also play an important role in promoting and sustaining tolerance. They can provide resources to ease tensions and affect institutional policies in a positive way. For example, Jewish, Irish, and Islamic communities have contributed to the peacebuilding effort within their places of origin from their places of residence in the United States. [12]
When Sarah wrote this essay in 2003, social media existed, but it hadn't yet become popular or widespread. Facebook and Twitter hadn't started yet (Facebook started in 2004, Twitter in 2006.)
In addition, while the conflict between the right and the left and the different races certainly existed in the United States, it was not nearly as escalated or polarized as it is now in 2019. For those reasons (and others), the original version of this essay didn't discuss political or racial tolerance or intolerance in the United States. Rather than re-writing the original essay, all of which is still valid, I have chosen to update it with these "Current Implications."
In 2019, the intolerance between the Left and the Right in the United States has gotten extreme. Neither side is willing to accept the legitimacy of the values, beliefs, or actions of the other side, and they are not willing to tolerate those values, beliefs or actions whatsoever. That means, in essence, that they will not tolerate the people who hold those views, and are doing everything they can to disempower, delegitimize, and in some cases, dehumanize the other side.
Further, while intolerance is not new, efforts to spread and strengthen it have been greatly enhanced with the current day traditional media and social media environments: the proliferation of cable channels that allow narrowcasting to particular audiences, and Facebook and Twitter (among many others) that serve people only information that corresponds to (or even strengthens) their already biased views. The availability of such information channels both helps spread intolerance; it also makes the effects of that intolerance more harmful.
Intolerance and its correlaries (disempowerment, delegitimization, and dehumanization) are perhaps clearest on the right, as the right currently holds the U.S. presidency and controls the statehouses in many states. This gives them more power to assert their views and disempower, delegitimize and dehumanize the other. (Consider the growing restrictions on minority voting rights, the delegitimization of transgendered people and supporters, and the dehumanizing treatment of would-be immigrants at the southern border.)
But the left is doing the same thing when it can. By accusing the right of being "haters," the left delegitimizes the right's values and beliefs, many of which are not borne of animus, but rather a combination of bad information being spewed by fake news in social and regular media, and natural neurobiological tendencies which cause half of the population to be biologically more fearful, more reluctant to change, and more accepting of (and needing) a strong leader.
Put together, such attitudes feed upon one another, causing an apparently never-ending escalation and polarization spiral of intolerance. Efforts to build understanding and tolerance, just as described in the original article, are still much needed today both in the United States and across the world.
The good news is that many such efforts exist. The Bridge Alliance , for instance, is an organization of almost 100 member organizations which are working to bridge the right-left divide in the U.S. While the Bridge Alliance doesn't use the term "tolerance" or "coexistence" in its framing " Four Principles ," they do call for U.S. leaders and the population to "work together" to meet our challenges. "Working together" requires not only "tolerance for " and "coexistence with" the other side; it also requires respect for other people's views. That is something that many of the member organizations are trying to establish with red-blue dialogues, public fora, and other bridge-building activities. We need much, much more of that now in 2019 if we are to be able to strengthen tolerance against the current intolerance onslaught.
One other thing we'd like to mention that was touched upon in the original article, but not explored much, is what can and should be done when the views or actions taken by the other side are so abhorent that they cannot and should not be tolerated? A subset of that question is one Sarah did pose above '"How can we be tolerant of those who are intolerant of us?"[3] For many, tolerating intolerance is neither acceptable nor possible." Sarah answers that by arguing that tolerance is beneficial--by implication, even in those situations.
What she doesn't explicitly consider, however, is the context of the intolerance. If one is considering the beliefs or behavior of another that doesn't affect anyone else--a personal decision to live in a particular way (such as following a particular religion for example), we would agree that tolerance is almost always beneficial, as it is more likely to lead to interpersonal trust and further understanding.
However, if one is considering beliefs or actions of another that does affect other people--particularly actions that affect large numbers of people, then that is a different situation. We do not tolerate policies that allow the widespread dissemination of fake news and allow foreign governments to manipulate our minds such that they can manipulate our elections. That, in our minds is intolerable. So too are actions that destroy the rule of law in this country; actions that threaten our democratic system.
But that doesn't mean that we should respond to intolerance in kind. Rather, we would argue, one should respond to intolerance with respectful dissent--explaining why the intolerance is unfairly stereotyping an entire group of people; explaining why such stereotyping is both untrue and harmful; why a particular action is unacceptable because it threatens the integrity of our democratic system, explaining alternative ways of getting one's needs met.
This can be done without attacking the people who are guilty of intolerance with direct personal attacks--calling them "haters," or shaming them for having voted a particular way. That just hardens the other sides' intolerance.
Still, reason-based arguments probably won't be accepted right away. Much neuroscience research explains that emotions trump facts and that people won't change their minds when presented with alternative facts--they will just reject those facts. But if people are presented with facts in the form of respectful discussion instead of personal attacks, that is both a factual and an emotional approach that can help de-escalate tensions and eventually allow for the development of tolerance. Personal attacks on the intolerant will not do that. So when Sarah asked whether one should tolerate intolerance, I would say "no, one should not." But that doesn't mean that you have to treat the intolerant person disrespectfully or "intolerantly." Rather, model good, respectful behavior. Model the behavior you would like them to adopt. And use that to try to fight the intolerance, rather than simply "tolerating it."
-- Heidi and Guy Burgess. December, 2019.
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[1] The American Heritage Dictionary (New York: Dell Publishing, 1994).
[2] William Ury, Getting To Peace (New York: The Penguin Group, 1999), 127.
[3] As identified by Serge Schmemann, a New York Times columnist noted in his piece of Dec. 29, 2002, in The New York Times entitled "The Burden of Tolerance in a World of Division" that tolerance is a burden rather than a blessing in today's society.
[4] Jannie Malan, "From Exclusive Aversion to Inclusive Coexistence," Short Paper, African Centre for the Constructive Resolution of Disputes (ACCORD), Conference on Coexistence Community Consultations, Durban, South Africa, January 2003, 6.
[5] As noted by Susan Sachs, a New York Times columnist in her piece of Dec. 16, 2001, in The New York Times entitled "In One Muslim Land, an Effort to Enforce Lessons of Tolerance."
[6] Amber Hague, "Attitudes of high school students and teachers towards Muslims and Islam in a southeaster Australian community," Intercultural Education 2 (2001): 185-196.
[7] Yehuda Amir, "Contact Hypothesis in Ethnic Relations," in Weiner, Eugene, eds. The Handbook of Interethnic Coexistence (New York: The Continuing Publishing Company, 2000), 162-181.
[8] The Ukrainian Centre for Common Ground has launched a successful restorative justice project. Information available on-line at www.sfcg.org .
[9] Neve Shalom homepage [on-line]; available at www.nswas.com ; Internet.
[10] Lessons in Tolerance after Conflict. http://www.beyondintractability.org/library/external-resource?biblio=9997
[11] "A Global Quest for Tolerance" [article on-line] (UNESCO, 1995, accessed 11 February 2003); available at http://www.unesco.org/new/en/social-and-human-sciences/themes/fight-against-discrimination/promoting-tolerance/ ; Internet.
[12] Louis Kriesberg, "Coexistence and the Reconciliation of Communal Conflicts." In Weiner, Eugene, eds. The Handbook of Interethnic Coexistence (New York: The Continuing Publishing Company, 2000), 182-198.
Use the following to cite this article: Peterson, Sarah. "Tolerance." Beyond Intractability . Eds. Guy Burgess and Heidi Burgess. Conflict Information Consortium, University of Colorado, Boulder. Posted: July 2003 < http://www.beyondintractability.org/essay/tolerance >.
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Essay On Tolerance
Introduction: Tolerance can be defined as a fair and aim attitude towards those whose lifestyle differs from ours. It is a noble virtue. It is wanted everywhere. It is the virtue that helps us put up with those who have different ways and opinions, and outlooks in life. It also enables us to judge the other sides of things with patience, without losing temper.
In the past, the difference in religion led to prosecution, the difference in politics led to bad-blood and difference in opinions ended in blows. Tolerance is a virtue much needed in our turbulent world. But we must recognize that there is a difference between tolerance and tolerate.
A Social Virtue of Tolerance: Tolerance is the reflection of one’s own behavior and character. The level of tolerance varies from person to person and as per the situation. People have zero tolerance for injustice and violation of the rights. If we want humanity to flourish, then we need to practice tolerance from all walks of life. As tolerance is the spirit of humanity.
Tolerance is not only an abstract virtue but also considerable influence in the current affairs of life. Man, being a social being, has to live in a spirit of harmony and co-operation with others in society. In such a process, give and take is a necessary capacity for compromise.
We cannot persuade others unless we ourselves are at the same time ready to be persuaded by practicing sweet and reasonableness. It is thus seen that tolerance is a social virtue that is opposed to dogmatism, and dictatorship in society compromise time anus is seen. It is impossible to be tolerant if one is hide-bound and rigid in views of full of prejudices.
Real Meaning of Tolerance: Tolerance does not mean to come up against any fundamental principle. Our best self goes down if we tolerate evil. In matters relating to deeper questions and principles of life, it is our duty to stand up for them and refuse an easy compromise. But tolerance does not mean to bear up moral degradation, public nuisance acts, anti-social activities, moral corruption, wrong-doing, exploitation, and deception.
Tolerance involves both humility and meekness, engaging them to say, “I am not perfect, and I am not going to try to make this imperfect soul’s walk harder through my imperfection.”
A tolerant person does not tolerate political and financial dishonesty. But in our personal life and daily dealings, we shall have to belong bearing. Tolerance does not mean to encourage a weak-kneed attitude to life. It has a limit and beyond that, it may become a social crime. Tolerance is a virtue in the simple affairs of life.
Intolerance: Intolerance is quite opposite to it. Thousands of men and women were burnt for the difference in religion. Even today, purges of political opinions have not yet been banished from society. Intolerance comes from bigotry, narrowness, prejudice, and blind self-concept.
The Necessity of Tolerance: The world has not been set to one pattern nor have men been shaped in a single mold. It is essential to pull together with all in society. It helps a man win people’s minds and earn popularity with people. The difference in the environment or condition of life causes a difference in temperament and opinion. A historical revolution has to lead diversities in outlook. Heredity is a factor not to be overlooked.
Each distinctive overlook has its own background. A cultured person takes this into account, makes allowance for them and is ready to make concessions and compromise. Without this broad-mindedness, energy may get wasted in the futile argument. In this long run, mere passion never tends to any good nor solves any problem; passion has to be controlled and disciplined by reason and tolerance.
But as education has spread, the spirit of reason has tended to prevail and the vice of intolerance has fairly diminished. With the passage of time, we are becoming more ready to recognize the possibility of views than our own. We also look upon tolerance as a mark of education and superior culture of ethics of the polite society. All great men were tolerant. They learned it from their boyhood and practical life. The Holy Scripture says, “God loves him who is tolerant.”
Unfortunately, anarchism and intolerance seem to be on the upgrade of late. Extremists with the help of sophisticated military weapons are seeking to destabilize a country, taking a heavy toll of innocent lives. Angry young man, challenging all established norms, now parades the walks of life. Tolerance has been cast to the wilds by them. Our aim should be to tackle them with a strong hand and then, of permissible, bring them to the conference table.
Our duty of Tolerance: John Stuart Mill wrote: “If all mankind minus one, were of one opinion, and only one person were of the contrary opinion, mankind would be no more justified in silencing that one person, than he, if he had the power, would be justified in silencing mankind.”
Tolerance is entertained everywhere. It is not a question that we should either be tolerant or intolerant after we have considered every pro and cons of anything. We know that more tolerant means a fool or a block-headed person. Tolerance does not mean to bear with any violence, injustice, unlawful acts with patience or silence. It means to watch and observe anything out of great patience. It aims or points at keeping politeness before having a clearance of anything.
Conclusion: Tolerance in true sense is to give consideration to others. Tolerance is a reflection of one’s own behavior and character. The consequence of tolerance is good for a tolerant. It is supported by every intellectual whole-heartedly.
Information Sources:
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- ontaheen.com
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Essays on Tolerance
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Essay Samples on Tolerance
Being open minded or staying close minded in the cultural conflict.
Be open-minded and educated in order to enhance the understanding of cultures and to address cultural conflict. Cultural conflict as stated in the Merriam Webster dictionary is the conflict of behavior patterns and values that results when different cultures are incompletely assimilated. To resolve this,...
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At the beginning of Goethe's Faust, how do the Dedication, the Prelude in the Theater, and the Prologue in Heaven set in motion a series of dialectical opposites--that is, furiously opposed opposites that create important, unresolvable (perhaps) tensions in the creative and philosophical life? The...
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Zero Tolerance Policy with Students of Minority
School safety concerns have been on the rise in recent years. In 1990 a new rule was implemented into public school systems. This rule is called the zero tolerance policy and means schools must use consistent harsh punishment for the breaking of a set list...
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Religious Tolerance in Islam and Christianity
Tolerance is one of the most important ways to help you reach God, and helps man to get rid of shame. He works to purify the human spirit and make it pure, and increases the human feeling of safety. Tolerance also demonstrates respect and acceptance...
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Limits on Free Speech in Pursuit of Liberal Toleration
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Intolerance and Disparity in Racial Profiling
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Fault Tolerance In The Internet Of Things
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Best topics on Tolerance
1. Being Open Minded Or Staying Close Minded In The Cultural Conflict
2. Hatred is One of the Biggest Threats to Humanity
3. Concepts of Tolerance in Unconventional Ideas in Faust
4. Advantages, Disadvantages, and effects of Studying Abroad
5. Zero Tolerance Policy with Students of Minority
6. Religious Tolerance in Islam and Christianity
7. Limits on Free Speech in Pursuit of Liberal Toleration
8. Intolerance and Disparity in Racial Profiling
9. Fault Tolerance In The Internet Of Things
10. The Nonessentials Of Sex, Race, Color And Religion
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International Day of Tolerance could not come at a more powerful time.
Brutal attacks in Paris, Beirut and Baghdad left hundreds dead at the hands of extremists bent on the opposite of tolerance, determined to suppress any idea or lifestyle that falls out of step with their ideology.
In a world of such violence, it is easy for tensions between communities to fester. But it’s at times like this that societies can choose how to respond. Religious, racial, cultural and political differences will always exist - this diversity is what makes life rich and exciting, but also difficult. It’s our choice to decide how to overcome this challenge by uniting around the values we share. Even though it may not always be easy, I don’t believe this is simply a utopian ideal, and I’m not the only one (oops, I didn’t quite mean to quote John Lennon there). Here are 10 quotes on tolerance from some of the world’s greatest minds that can help us all build a stronger, more united world:
“In order to have faith in his own path, he does not need to prove that someone else's path is wrong.” ― Paulo Coelho
“tolerance isn't about not having beliefs. it's about how your beliefs lead you to treat people who disagree with you.”, ― timothy keller, “in the practice of tolerance, one's enemy is the best teacher.” ― dalai lama xiv.
“ Tolerance implies no lack of commitment to one's own beliefs. Rather it condemns the oppression or persecution of others.” ― John F. Kennedy
"the only way to make sure people you agree with can speak is to support the rights of people you don't agree with." ― eleanor holmes norton , “i do not like what you say but i will defend to the death your right to say it.” ― attributed to voltaire .
"If civilization is to survive, we must cultivate the science of human relationships - the ability of all peoples, of all kinds, to live together, in the same world at peace."
― franklin d. roosevelt, "if a profound gulf separates my neighbor's belief from mine, there is always the golden bridge of tolerance.", ― anon., “no one is born hating another person because of the color of his skin, or his background, or his religion. people must learn to hate, and if they can learn to hate, they can be taught to love, for love comes more naturally to the human heart than its opposite.” ― nelson mandela , and last but not least: , ― copper and tod, the fox and the hound.
Tolerance is not easy, but it’s infinitely better than hatred. Democratic values tread a fine line--is a tolerant society necessarily intolerant to intolerance? While there are no simple answers to the tough questions the world faces, democratic nations cannot afford to lose sight of the fundamental freedoms they are fighting for. In the wake of last weekend’s violence, it’s time to reassert the values that make us human.
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10 Quotes About Tolerance for International Day of Tolerance
Nov. 16, 2015
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Tolerance, Acceptance, Understanding
...and how they differ in everyday life and in research..
Posted February 25, 2014 | Reviewed by Davia Sills
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Many of my blog columns aim at clarifying concepts or shedding new light on them. For example, I have posted dozens of pieces on the race concept, aimed at disentangling biology from culture (e.g., " What Race Is George Zimmerman? "); and my book, The Myth of Race , discusses the race concept from multiple perspectives.
Occasionally, I also compare concepts related to each other—for example, envy and jealousy —for the insights that result. That is what I would like to do here, by considering tolerance and acceptance and then thinking about them in relation to understanding.
Let’s begin with some abbreviated Wikipedia definitions:
Tolerance is a fair, objective, and permissive attitude toward those whose opinions, practices, race, religion, nationality, etc., differ from one's own; freedom from bigotry.
Acceptance in human psychology is a person's assent to the reality of a situation, recognizing a process or condition (often a negative or uncomfortable situation) without attempting to change it, protest, or exit .
Tolerance is a virtue. It is a version of the golden rule in that, insofar as we want others to treat us decently, we need to treat them decently as well. It is also a pragmatic formula for the functioning of society, as we can see in the omnipresent wars between different religions, political ideologies, nationalities, ethnic groups, and other us-versus-them divisions. It is a basis for the First Amendment protections that enabled the United States to avoid the religious strife that plagued Europe for centuries. (And it is a reason to be skeptical of slogans such as “Zero Tolerance.”)
Acceptance goes a step beyond tolerance. If a sign of tolerance is a feeling of “I can live with X (behavior, religion, race, culture, etc.),” then acceptance moves beyond that in the direction of “X is OK.” You can tolerate something without accepting it, but you cannot accept something without tolerating it. For example, when a son or daughter tells a parent about an unwelcome career choice, marital partner, or sexual identity , he or she wants that information not just to be tolerated, but to be accepted.
Moving beyond tolerance and acceptance, we come to a third concept: understanding . Here is Wikipedia’s shortened definition:
Understanding is a psychological process related to an abstract or physical object, such as a person, situation, or message, whereby one is able to think about it and use concepts to deal adequately with that object.
Here is the problem. It is possible to tolerate or accept someone without understanding him or her, and the same goes for tolerating or accepting a different culture. And the converse is also true. It is possible to understand a culture or a person without acceptance, or even tolerance—think, for example, of undercover spies.
It is good to know that some people are impressively free from prejudice against those with whom they have had little or no contact (or even abstract knowledge), as part of a live-and-let-live attitude toward life.
Tolerance and/or acceptance are desirable, but they are not a substitute for understanding. They are relevant for getting along with others in the world (though understanding helps), but understanding is essential for the social and behavioral sciences
This latter point may seem obvious, but it is not universally recognized in cross-cultural research. Some studies are done in the following manner:
1. An English-language personality test developed in the United States is translated into several languages.
2. The test is given to people (usually college students) in a variety of countries and languages.
3. The results are interpreted as showing specific average personality differences among cultures.
The problem with such research is that there is no research on the test in many or all of the countries studied, and there is no way of knowing whether the personality dimensions measured even exist in those cultures. For example, one could develop a test of “Americanism” and get the results for 20 countries. This would allow researchers to rank cultures on that variable, even though it is irrelevant to their existence.
I remember visiting China a number of years ago when a psychology professor there discussed his research on the “ Big Five ” personality dimensions ( openness -to-experience, conscientiousness , extraversion , agreeableness , and neuroticism —OCEAN). Many American psychologists believe that these are fundamental dimensions of personality. Yet my Chinese colleague said that his research had not found a dimension of openness, but had found a dimension of face-saving. So we can see that scores of Americans on the dimension of face-saving would be as culturally meaningless in the United States as scores of Chinese on openness-to-experience are in China.
It is good that some researchers are tolerant and accepting of other cultures, but these positive attitudes do not provide a shortcut to understanding the cultures that they include in their research.
Jefferson M. Fish, Ph.D. , is a Professor Emeritus of psychology at St. John's University. He has authored and edited 12 books, including The Myth of Race .
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Home / Essay Samples / Life / Emotion / Tolerance
Tolerance Essay Examples
Respect for diversity: cultural competence.
Cultural competence is important in order to be effectively work in community. Gaining expertise seems to be impossible but true cultural competence is a developing process of learning and requires long time commitment. In cultural competence essay its importance is discussed. Kofi Annan, 2001 Nobel...
Forgiveness Essay: What Should Stay in Our Daily Life
It isn't astonishing that forgiveness is generally looked through the theme. We live in an an imperfect world with not-so-perfect individuals. Frustration hurt, and disloyalty, if purposeful, is essential for the human experience. Forgiving and unforgiveness capably impacts each feature of our daily routines and...
The Ideology of Tolerance Inherent to Uae
The dictionary defines tolerance as the ability or willingness to tolerate the existence of opinions or behavior that one dislikes or disagrees with. The key word here would be ‘willingness. ’ How willing are we to tolerate a bad idea. How willing are we to...
The Role of Tolerance in Modern World
With the time I have spent learning and growing as a human being. My conclusion to the world's problems, global warming, politics and all the other things in this world can be all solved by, Tolerance. Now, Tolerance is something we must leave in this...
Free Speech and the Paradox of Tolerance
The paradox of tolerance states, “if a society is tolerant without limit, its ability to be tolerant is eventually seized or destroyed by the intolerant”. Karl Popper described it as the seemingly paradoxical idea that 'In order to maintain a tolerant society, the society must...
Impacts of Zero-tolerance Policies in School
There is no doubt that safety should be a priority in all schools. In the 1990s, zero-tolerance policies became prevalent in schools as an attempt to prevent drug-abuse and violence. However, many factors were not taken into consideration at the time of its creation. This...
Why the Zero Tolerance Policy Needs to Be Banned in Public Schools
School safety concerns have been on the rise in recent years. In 1990 a new rule was implemented into public school systems. This rule is called the zero tolerance policy and means schools must use consistent harsh punishment for the breaking of a set list...
Tolerance in the United Arab Emirates
The dictionary defines tolerance as the ability or willingness to tolerate the existence of opinions or behavior that one dislikes or disagrees with. The key word here would be ‘willingness.’ How willing are we to tolerate a bad idea. How willing are we to make...
Tolerance – One of the Most Important Qualities that Form a Society
Society is formed by groups of individuals who possess different life elements that make them who they are. We all have unique personalities that make us different from one another; these qualities are the building blocks for a better society. Tolerance is one of those...
Importance of Tolerance and Patience for a Peaceful Society: Pakistan
This essay emphasizes the importance of tolerance and patience for a peaceful society, as they enable individuals to put up with those who have different opinions and ways of life, creating a state of harmony that is essential for human progress. Peace is a state...
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