The term “tolerance” first appeared in 1953. The English immunologist Medawar implied tolerance as a property of the immune system in which the body perceives a foreign body as its own and does not react to it in any way.
In the future, the word "tolerance" began to be used by other scientific disciplines, in each of which it acquired its own special meaning. In the article we will consider what this concept means, synonyms of the word “tolerance”, and also outline the main problems of tolerance, arguing them with statements from fiction.
Tolerance is ...
So what is tolerance? The definition of this term is most often referred to as tolerance for the behavior, culture and ethnicity of the people around. In sociology, tolerance is considered as patience for a different way of life. But this does not mean at all that this term is a synonym for the word “indifferent”. It can be regarded as an opportunity to give others the right to live as they see fit.
In philosophy, the word "tolerance" is denoted as patience with other views and habits. In society, this quality is necessary in order to exist peacefully with people of a different faith, national and religious affiliation.
Ethical sciences denote tolerance as the ability to calmly and without aggression perceive all forms of self-expression of another person. Here the main synonyms of tolerance are the concepts of goodwill and tolerance.
Definition Problem
In general, such concepts as respect, understanding and acceptance are synonymous with tolerance.
Tolerance cannot be called concession, indulgence, or condescension; moreover, it does not mean tolerance for injustice on the part of another person or renunciation of one’s own worldview and behavior.
Many definitions of tolerance can be considered, but not one of them will fully reveal the meaning of this process, since it is impossible to fully cover all aspects of human life. So what is tolerance? The definition of this term can be summarized as follows. Tolerance is a conscious, sincere tolerance, a special psychological attitude that is focused on respectful perception of other values, beliefs, ways of expression and other components of human personality. This is an active position that helps to achieve mutual understanding between opponents.
Tolerance in the modern world
Modern problems of tolerance are practically no different from those presented in the literary works of the classics. These include ethnic, social, and gender misunderstanding. It remains to learn only one rule: no matter how the world has changed, tolerance will always be considered a virtue.
But now, as never before, the priority task that needs to be solved is the problem of tolerance formation. This is due to the following reasons:
- The sudden and dynamic division of civilization according to economic, ethnic, religious, social and other criteria. In this regard, the level of intolerance in society has grown.
- The rise of religious extremism.
- Local wars exacerbated interethnic relations (for example, the war of Ukraine and Russia).
- Problems with refugees.
To cultivate tolerance in someone, certain conditions are necessary, the so-called basic principles. They include 5 items:
- Violence should never be a means to an end.
- Freedom of choice. A person must consciously come to a certain decision.
- Force yourself without forcing others. The main principle of tolerance is the ability of a person to remain himself, without forcing the other to change their views.
- Compliance with laws, traditions and customs is an important factor in the development of tolerance.
- Accept the other as they are, regardless of differences.
The relevance of the problem of tolerance is beyond doubt. After all, as the philosopher Yu.A. Schreider once remarked: "The most terrible catastrophe that threatens terrestrial civilization is the destruction of humanity in man." Therefore, so much has been written and said about accepting other people as they are.
Tolerance and literature
To understand the full depth of this problem, it is better to resort to literary arguments. Different life situations are described in stories, novels and short stories, where you can see what tolerance is in real life using examples of the main characters.
The relevance of the problem of tolerance first appeared in the literary works of Ancient Russia. The traveling writer Athanasius Nikitin described the diversity of religious movements in India. In his texts, he encouraged the reader to think about the whole diversity of the world and be more tolerant of people with a different faith.
But special attention deserves the works of classical literature. Writers of that time spoke about the problems of tolerance that existed in society. So, in the works of the XVIII century, the problems of tolerance were common in the scientific and educational sphere. Already in the 19th century, the problem of class tolerance began to arise. In particular, this is evidenced by the works of Tolstoy “War and Peace”, Turgenev's “Fathers and Sons”, which examined the main arguments of the problem of tolerance.
According to the classics
From the pages of classical literature you can learn a lot about the problem of tolerance. The arguments given in the works are relevant even today. Take, for example, the story "Children of the Underground" (V. G. Korolenko). The author tells the story of a little boy Vasya, who could not find understanding in his own family. Despite the fact that his father held a high position in society, he was always alone. Once he meets Valk and Marusya. These guys came from the lowest social strata of the population. So two social realities collided, which were closely intertwined. Vasya was able to understand and accept the pain of others, he began to better understand adults and thanks to this he could establish relations with his father.
This work reveals the problem of social inequality, and as long as there is a stratification of society into classes, it will remain relevant.
Another example from classical literature can be found in Tolstoy's work “Walking through the agony”. It mainly talks about gender tolerance when a woman becomes an equal man. Since at the turn of the XIX-XX centuries this problem of equality was widespread, it was the basis for many literary works.
The problem of interethnic tolerance is well disclosed in the work “Sea Stories” (K. M. Stanyukovich). Russian sailors once picked up a boy of African-American descent in the open sea and treated him with all human compassion, despite the color of his skin.
This problem is also revealed in the story of Leo Tolstoy's "Prisoner of the Caucasus." The main idea that the author tried to convey was the following: "There are no good or bad nations, there are only good and bad people of different nations."
Literary arguments
Tolerance was one of the favorite topics of authors of different styles and genres. Not only in novels, short stories or short stories this problem occurs. For example, in Krylov’s fables, the problem of finding a compromise between characters with different points of view is deeply visible. In the fable “Swan, Cancer and Pike”, the heroes did not dare to move the cart, as everyone did what he was used to: Cancer backed up, Swan flew up, and Pike jumped into the water, so “it’s still there.”
In the fable "Elephant and Pug" a small dog for no apparent reason begins to bark at a calmly walking elephant, instead of just passing by. Someone may say that this is just an interesting children's story, but, in fact, something else is hidden here. If we draw a parallel with some events of the everyday life of the present time, we can see that the problem of tolerance is hidden in this simple work. Often on the streets you can meet people who quite rudely, arrogantly or with discontent express their opinions to other, completely strangers. For example, a situation: a company of vacationers arrived in a resort town. Their place of residence was near the station, so there was no point in taking a taxi, although their bags were not easy. But at the crossing, they started talking among themselves about how hard it was to go with such a load. The woman who walked by heard these words and expressed her opinion, saying that “beggars” had arrived and could not afford to take transport.
The situation is not quite characteristic, but is great for drawing an analogy with the fable "Elephant and Pug."
Own and alien
The problem of tolerance in fiction is represented by a wide variety of works. It is displayed in the children's tales of Andersen and Pushkin, it can be seen in the stories of Winnie the Pooh and Carlson. Examples of tolerant behavior can serve as animals from Kipling's work “Mowgli”.
Arguments of the problem of tolerance can be found in every second literary work. Even in war stories or political repression, there is room for something human. Take, for example, the “Alpine Ballad” by V. Bykov. Events of history unfold during the Great Patriotic War. Prisoners escaping from the Nazi camp: Russian soldier Ivan and Julia, a girl from Italy. They had only three days. Three days of long-awaited freedom, pursuit and life in the most difficult conditions. When the Nazis overtook the fugitives, Ivan took all the blame on himself, for which he paid with his life. Julia all her life cherished the memory of a brave soldier. After the war ended, she found his relatives in Russia and wrote to them about the death of Ivan. She wanted to talk about the feat of a simple soldier who saved an unfamiliar foreigner. They didn’t even know each other’s language.
The transnational issue of tolerance is described here. Arguments from the literature, written in a similar vein, reveal the deepest meaning of tolerance and humanity. The reader would understand the behavior of the protagonist if he defended his compatriot. But there was an Italian with whom they were not even familiar. So why did he do that? The main character did not divide people into “Russians” and “not Russians” and simply did what he could do if someone else were in place of the Italian. The author tried to show that there is no such thing as “one's own” and “another's”, there is simply a person who needs help.
Love line
No less colorful is the problem of accepting others in M. Sholokhov’s novel “Quiet Don”. Here, in the harsh conditions of the civil war, tolerance seems impossible, but the author introduces an additional “variable” that is one level above conventions - this is love.
The heroes of the novel - Dunyashka Melekhova and Mishka Kosheva - loved each other. But during the revolution, their families stood on opposite sides of the barricades, and when all hostilities ended, Mishka Kosheva turned out to be an enemy for the Dunyashka family. But they are in love, and this love is above all conventions. Morality will always be above ideological and political preferences.
From words to deeds
A lot has been written about tolerance, but in practice everything happens quite differently. Beautiful stories about the acceptance of people with a different worldview exist only in books, but not in the real world. In particular, this applies to the younger generation.
The problems of tolerance in the youth environment are provoked, first of all, by asocial behavior and the commercialization of relations. The younger generation always comes first with modern devices and only then everything else. The old values ​​have long been lost. Every day new youth groups and movements are created, and the number of anti-social radical organizations is growing. Simply put, in the circle of adolescents and youths, being “tolerant” is now “not fashionable.”
In educational institutions, in particular schools, they study the concept of tolerance. However, the matter does not go beyond the definition. Studies show that the acceptance rate of others is falling. Perhaps the fault is the lack of positive examples that could show how to be tolerant, perhaps few students read Russian classics. Nevertheless, sooner or later, each of them will have to write an essay on the topic "The Problem of Tolerance."
And this can become a serious problem when there is no clear understanding of the problem, and the composition is the task of the exam.
To write the essay The Problem of Tolerance, arguments from the literature are extremely important. They can be used as a basis for drawing analogies with events in the modern world. Alternatively, you can briefly describe the work and explain why its opinion is authoritative. The second option is much easier, but as an example, let's try to combine the two ways of writing an essay.
Composition example
“Perhaps very soon people will begin to live in absolute isolation from each other in order to preserve their fragile world from outsiders. But this will not happen soon, although serious prerequisites for this transition already exist - a low level of tolerance in society. Now you need to match the word "norm".
If a person has at least something different, he may not be accepted into the collective, society, or worse - make him an outcast. As a heroine from L. Ulitskaya’s novel “The daughter of Bukhara”, Milu. A girl from childhood has Down syndrome. Her mother brings her up and makes every effort to make the girl happy. But the attitude towards people with special needs in society is indifferent, and if you are lucky, then indulgent.
“Diverse idiots” and “useless members of society” are just a few epithets, which the author described the attitude of society to "other" people. For some reason, it is believed that such people do not have the right to compassion, respect, or understanding.
But there are people who have other, distinctive characteristics. It is worth recalling the novel by L. Tolstoy "War and Peace." The main character, Pierre Bezukhov, does not fit into secular society at all. And here we are talking not so much about his awkwardness as about character. He is naive, gullible and simple-minded. Open to the world and very kind. But where selfishness and hypocrisy are held in high esteem, he is a stranger.
And in the modern world, almost at every step there are similar situations. The boy had an accident and became disabled, now he is much less likely to join the society when he grows up. Over time, former friends will turn away, begin to ignore and pass around others. Now he is a disabled person, a useless member of society. A girl who likes to read books, does not watch TV and very rarely visits the Internet, also feels the sidelong glances of her peers.
Such situations make you wonder if people can be called people when they exclude their kind from their society without bitterness and regret. To be tolerant means to remain human. And everyone can succeed in this if he simply treats others the way he would like to be treated. ”
The problem of tolerance is difficult to understand. It can occur in various areas of life and situations. And summing up under all the above, one can note the following: tolerance is humanity. And humanity is nothing more than the ability to get along with their own kind, without diminishing their significance and without losing their individuality.