Philosophy, Religion, and the Question of Intolerance

Edited by Mehdi Aminrazavi & David Ambuel

Subjects: Ethics
Paperback : 9780791434482, 284 pages, July 1997
Hardcover : 9780791434475, 284 pages, July 1997

Alternative formats available from:

Table of contents

Introduction
Mehdi Amin Razavi and David Ambuel

I Philosophical Roots of Intolerance

1. Bayle, Locke, and the Concept of Toleration
J. B. Schneewind

2. Aristotle and the Metaphysics of Intolerance
John McCumber

3. Political Tolerance in an Age of Renewed Religious Warfare
Robert Cummings Neville

II Religion

4. Metaphysical Roots of Tolerance and Intolerance: An Islamic Interpretation
Seyyed Hossein Nasr

5. An Elephant, an Ocean, and the Freedom of Faith
David Cain

6. Kierkegaard and Tolerance
Edwin C. George

7. Faith and Intellectual Fairness
John Donovan

8. Beyond Toleration
William O'Meara

III Politics

9. Disagreement: Appreciating the Dark Side of Tolerance
Edward Langerak

10. Toleration and the Idea of Progress
Gordon Graham

11. The Justification of Toleration
Richard H. Dees

12. Differences: Indifference or Dialogue
Gertrude D. Conway

13. Radicalizing Liberalism and Modernity
Henry L. Ruf

IV Ethics

14. On the Difference between Non-Moral and Moral Conceptions of Toleration: The Case for Toleration as an Individual Virtue
Robert Paul Churchill

15. Concerning Moral Toleration
Jeff Jordan

16. Toleration as a Form of Bias
Andrew Altman

17. Socratic Intolerance and Aristotelian Toleration
Evelyn M. Barker

18. Carnap's Principle of Tolerance
Stephen F. Barker

Contributors

Index

Leading authorities offer insights on tolerance along with cultural, social, religious, and philosophical implications.

Description

Philosophy, Religion, and the Question of Intolerance is a diverse collection of essays united by a common starting point and theme—the awareness that intolerance is a phenomenon encountered in diverse places and circumstances and often handled with limited success. The question of toleration, together with its cultural, social, religious, and philosophical implications, is addressed by leading authorities who offer insights from an interdisciplinary perspective.

The book begins with essays by three distinguished scholars, Robert Cummings Neville, J. B. Schneewind, and John McCumber. They assess the origins of intolerance, the genesis of our concept of toleration, and the outlook for the practice of tolerance in contemporary society.

Beyond the opening essays, the collection is divided into three sections. The first concentrates on the relationship of religious faith and practice to toleration and inquires how religion might either impede or promote toleration. The second section deals primarily with questions regarding tolerance in the face of modern political realities. The final section discusses ethics, namely the philosophical analysis and definition of toleration as a virtue.

Mehdi Amin Razavi is Assistant Professor in the Classics, Philosophy, and Religion Department at Mary Washington College. Amin Razavi's previous books include The Complete Bibliography of the Works of Seyyed Hossein Nasr: From 1958-1993 (in collaboration with Z. Moris); The Islamic Intellectual Tradition in Persia (edited); and Suhrawardi and the School of Illumination. David Ambuel is Assistant Professor in the Classics, Philosophy, and Religion Department at Mary Washington College.

Reviews

"The book has a timely and important theme. The issue of toleration is not one that can be neglected, and it is interesting to have a number of people address it from various perspectives. " — Reginald E. Allen, Northwestern University