Faced with unknown words in a context, a person often turns to the Internet for help, but does not always receive an exhaustive answer to a question. Patience is involved in various fields of activity, is studied in ethics classes in schools and increases the level of respect in the social environment. But what is the origin and meaning of the word "tolerant"? What facts and prejudices are behind this term?
Etymology
Tolerance - the ability to openly look at the opinions, behavior, appearance and way of thinking of others. Quality allows others to feel comfortable, express themselves freely in public, without fear of extraneous condemnation.
Currently, the popular meaning of the word "tolerant" is directly related to sociology, while other concepts remain in the background.
- The medicine. The patient's ability to endure pain, being convinced of its soon passage, to endure the effect of strong drugs on the body.
- Finance. Acceptance of deviations from the weight of the coin, which does not affect the final value.
- Psychology. Patience and getting used to external factors, circumstances and problems.
- Technics. Humility with a slight weight error during assembly parts.
Historical roots
World events of past centuries remind a person of cruel acts of hatred caused by prejudice or the inability to come to a single agreement: slavery, condemnation of the rights of black people, disrespect for religious groups, persecution of people by ethnicity during the Second World War, the Holocaust. Anti-moral dogmas affecting the population did not focus on what the word "tolerant" means, preferring to turn a blind eye to monstrous incidents.
Socrates became the founder of the definition, when during the early Platonic dialogues he patiently allowed his interlocutors to search for the truth, wherever this led. He called on supporters to offer rebuttals so that the truth could be revealed.
During the Renaissance and Reformation of the XV and XVI centuries, the humanists Erasmus (1466-1536), De Las Casas (1484-1566) and Montaigne (1533-1592) defended the autonomy of the human mind against the dogma of the church, calling for the expansion of freedom of choice. Although religious authorities responded by forming the Inquisition and an index of banned books, 17th-century philosophers seriously considered the issue of tolerance.
In the XIX century, the idea was developed in accordance with liberal educational views on the nature of the soul, who believed that moral autonomy is important for the prosperity of man.
A well-known argument in favor of the conviction of that time was the work of John Stuart Miller "On Freedom" (1859), where it was believed that "tolerant" means making a person’s choices and decisions without limiting his will, except when actions pose a threat to the well-being of someone of another.
Modern use
Justice and empathy are closely related to moral development and reasoning. The bloody history of the 20th century made mankind believe that the peaceful resolution of conflicts and the search for compromises are a priority for ending political and religious violence.
In the 21st century, the meaning of the word "tolerant" is divided into two senses:
- honest and objective attitude towards those whose opinions and practices differ from their own;
- respect for human dignity.
The concept covers the social aspect, actions, individual choices, as well as social, political and legal obligations. Any person is tolerant in one way or another, because he unconsciously gives and receives respect for others.
Education and Tolerance
Be patient with others - a quality inherent in people. Creating a favorable environment for tolerance in modern schools, teachers pay attention to the individuality of children and ethnic diversity, cultivating moral respect for society.
The meaning of the word "tolerant" in the educational system is highlighted as a separate concept aimed at the uniqueness of children, the use of special techniques to maintain it, which will positively affect the future of the individual and social policy. Learning to foster a harmonious society focuses on the understanding between morality and respect. The grounds for the development of tolerance in children are isolated by the country's focus on strengthening future intergroup relations.
Partially a similar goal in the educational system develops a sense of justice, the ability to empathize with the plight of other people, to stand on the side of schoolchildren who differ in race, gender, ethnicity or nationality.
Invalid context
Prejudice control and tolerance are not opposing concepts.
The Latin origin of the second, meaning "patience", has become more often perceived in a negative context, as "humility" with the fact that a person is strongly disliked. Unlike prejudices, the meaning of the word "tolerant" is based on the moral sphere, offering a positive approach to the study of relations between groups of people that differ from each other.
Taking the side of the oppressed group of the population, protecting an outsider from the offender, but at the same time not changing his views on established dogmas, manifesting them in unrestrained hatred, aggression, fights discrimination, but is not considered tolerant. The reason is the lack of understanding, the manifestation of empathy for the opinion of another person.
At the same time, respect can be indiscriminate, affecting the rights of a certain group of people or customs with a conservative bias: child marriage, wife theft or neo-Nazi propaganda.
Empathy and Morality
Modern psychologists, such as Jonathan Heidt and Martin Hoffman, believe that empathy is an important motivator of the moral aspects of a person, as it forms altruistic and disinterested behavior. This means that the person who is not indifferent to the thoughts, feelings and experiences of others is tolerant. He can put himself in the place of the interlocutor or realize the harm caused by negative treatment to an outsider. Passing the problem through yourself is the essence of tolerance.
Moral values, such as justice, empathy, tolerance and respect, are individual, linked by a single goal - the acceptance of the diversity of each person.
So, tolerance is the ability to patiently and respectfully treat views, opinions, interests, belonging to certain groups of a person, even if the moral values of the interlocutor contradict their own.