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A COLUMN ON TOLERANCE AND ITS ROLE IN AFUNDAMENTAL SYSTEM OF ETHICS
 
This
 
is
 
more
 
than
 
a
 
casual
 
remark
 
on
 
Tolerance.
 
We
 
ask
 
ourselves
 
whether
 
there
 
is
 
a
 
minimum
 
subset
 
of 
 
ethics
 
which
 
are
 
universal
 
in
 
nature
 
and
 
which
 
transcend
 
the
 
limitations
 
of 
 
geography
 
and
 
ethnic
 
identification.
 
Suppose
 
we
 
found
 
ourselves
 
amongst
 
a
 
civilization
 
about
 
which
 
we
 
knew
 
nothing.
 
Is
 
there
 
a
 
universal
 
set
 
of 
 
ethics
 
that
 
could
 
be
 
used
 
to
 
establish
 
rapport
 
with
 
an
 
otherwise
 
alien
 
population?
 
And
 
finally
 
is
 
Tolerance
 
a
 
universal
 
ethic
 
or
 
virtue?
 
I
 
will
 
explain
 
why
 
this
 
is
 
an
 
important
 
ethic
 
in
 
the
 
current
 
era.
 
Most
 
values
 
which
 
we
 
like
 
to
 
think
 
of 
 
as
 
universal
 
are
 
transmitted
 
to
 
us
 
thanks
 
to
 
our
 
parents
 
at
 
a
 
very
 
early
 
age.
 
These
 
values
 
originate
 
in
 
very
 
familiar
 
familial
 
admonitions
 
e.g.,
 
be
 
courteous
 
to
 
your
 
guests
 
,
 
treat
 
people
 
with
 
respect
 
and
 
dignity,
 
be
 
kind
 
and
 
helpful
 
to
 
seniors,
 
heed
 
the
 
admonitions
 
from
 
elders
 
in
 
the
 
family
 
,
 
do
 
not
 
indulge
 
in
 
gratuitous
 
violence,
 
do
 
not
 
be
 
derisive
 
of 
 
those
 
of 
 
who
 
are
 
less
 
fortunate
 
than
 
you
 
are,
 
tell
 
the
 
truth,
 
etc.
 
etc..
 
If 
 
one
 
follows
 
these
 
simple
 
rules,
 
the
 
question
 
of 
 
intolerance
 
does
 
not
 
arise.,
 
because
 
if 
 
a
 
person
 
follows
 
these
 
universal
 
principles
 
,
 
there
 
is
 
very
 
little
 
incentive
 
or
 
opportunity
 
for
 
him
 
or
 
her
 
to
 
be
 
intolerant.
 
Generally
 
the
 
teachings
 
we
 
imbibe
 
in
 
the
 
home
 
before
 
we
 
get
 
into
 
our
 
teenage
 
years
 
are
 
universal
 
values
 
and
 
the
 
exceptions
 
that
 
do
 
occur
 
in
 
these
 
behaviors
 
are
 
not
 
of 
 
relevance
 
to
 
young
 
children.
 
It
 
is
 
our
 
contention
 
that
 
tolerance
 
is
 
not
 
a
 
part
 
of 
 
the
 
set
 
of 
 
ethics
 
that
 
are
 
taught
 
at
 
a
 
very
 
early
 
age
 
as
 
a
 
universal
 
ethic.
 
There
 
is
 
good
 
reason
 
for
 
this
 
,
 
because
 
immediately
 
questions
 
arise
 
.
 
Should
 
we
 
tolerate
 
evil
 
and
 
if 
 
so
 
what
 
constitutes
 
evil.
 
We
 
maintain
 
that
 
neither
 
an
 
individual
 
nor
 
society
 
should
 
tolerate
 
evil
 
in
 
general
 
and
 
intolerance
 
in
 
particular.
 
And
 
yet
 
in
 
our
 
zeal
 
to
 
be
 
liberal
 
and
 
our
 
natural
 
tendency
 
to
 
think
 
well
 
of 
 
people
 
from
 
other
 
ethnic
 
or
 
religious
 
backgrounds
 
,
 
we
 
choose
 
to
 
overlook
 
the
 
blatant
 
intolerance
 
that
 
sometimes
 
pervades
 
the
 
world.
 
We
 
tend
 
to
 
argue
 
that
 
because
 
we
 
observe
 
a
 
universal
 
set
 
of 
 
ethics
 
that
 
others
 
do
 
so
 
also.
 
Herein
 
lays
 
the
 
problem
 
.
 
Not
 
every
 
individual
 
or
 
society
 
will
 
profess
 
to
 
have
 
the
 
same
 
set
 
of 
 
values
 
as
 
you
 
may
 
have
 
.
 
In
 
particular,
 
not
 
every
 
society
 
will
 
have
 
the
 
same
 
 
reverence
 
for
 
life
 
as
 
you
 
may
 
have.
 
It
 
is
 
certainly
 
the
 
case
 
that
 
when
 
it
 
comes
 
to
 
tolerance
 
towards
 
other
 
faiths
 
there
 
are
 
significant
 
differences
 
between
 
religions
 
and
 
societies.
 
Whenever
 
the
 
Occidental
 
stepped
 
out
 
into
 
a
 
new
 
world
 
his
 
first
 
endeavor
 
was
 
to
 
convert
 
the
 
people
 
in
 
the
 
new
 
world
 
to
 
his
 
own
 
faith
 
.
 
And
 
once
 
they
 
were
 
converted
 
to
 
the
 
new
 
faith
 
,
 
they
 
could
 
exercise
 
considerable
 
control
 
over
 
the
 
mind
 
and
 
body
 
of 
 
the
 
newly
 
converted
 
person
 
the
 
main
 
reason
 
was
 
that
 
they
 
had
 
very
 
little
 
tolerance
 
for
 
the
 
native
 
faiths..
 
Similarly
 
there
 
are
 
significant
 
differences
 
in
 
the
 
reverence
 
for
 
life
 
that
 
are
 
observed
 
by
 
different
 
societies
 
and
 
faiths
 
.
 
So
 
the
 
question
 
arises
 
,
 
should
 
we
 
tolerate
 
faiths
 
that
 
are
 
inherently
 
intolerant.
 
I
 
mean
 
by
 
inherently
 
intolerant
 
if 
 
the
 
faith
 
calls
 
for
 
extermination
 
of 
 
those
 
who
 
do
 
not
 
belong
 
to
 
the
 
faith.
 
But
 
one
 
might
 
argue
 
that
 
most
 
members
 
of 
 
a
 
faith
 
do
 
not
 
take
 
such
 
injunctions
 
(to
 
kill
 
the
 
infidel)
 
seriously.
 
That
 
may
 
very
 
well
 
be
 
true
 
but
 
even
 
if 
 
the
 
percentage
 
who
 
believed
 
in
 
the
 
injunctions
 
of 
 
their
 
holy
 
book
 
are
 
only
 
1%
 
that
 
could
 
still
 
be
 
a
 
very
 
large
 
number,
 
enough
 
to
 
do
 
harm
 
to
 
you
 
or
 
your
 
family
 
should
 
t
 
he
 
occasion
 
arise.
 
So
 
what
 
to
 
so
 
?
 
I
 
say
 
,
 
that
 
it
 
is
 
legitimate
 
to
 
ask
 
that
 
such
 
injunctions
 
in
 
a
 
holy
 
book
 
are
 
not
 
acceptable
 
in
 
the
 
modern
 
age
 
and
 
should
 
not
 
be
 
tolerated
 
in
 
any
 
civilized
 
society
 
.
 
There
 
is
 
one
 
more
 
problem
 
with
 
tolerance
 
.
 
And
 
that
 
is
 
,
 
it
 
is
 
not
 
particularly
 
proper
 
to
 
talk
 
about
 
tolerating
 
other
 
faiths
 
or
 
civilizations
 
,
 
because
 
that
 
raises
 
the
 
question
 
of 
 
putting
 
ourself 
 
on
 
a
 
pedestal
 
and
 
 judging
 
who
 
or
 
what
 
we
 
should
 
tolerate
 
and
 
the
 
question
 
here
 
is
 
what
 
right
 
do
 
we
 
have
 
to
 
arrogate
 
unto
 
ourselves
 
the
 
right
 
to
 
tolerate
 
others
 
with
 
all
 
the
 
attendant
 
condescension
 
.
 
If 
 
one
 
embraces
 
diversity
 
,
 
then
 
one
 
should
 
say
 
so
 
and
 
act
 
accordingly
 
rather
 
than
 
grudgingly
 
tolerate
 
diversity.
 
To
 
summarize
 
1
 
Tolerance
 
can
 
never
 
be
 
a
 
universal
 
ethic
 
2.
 
It
 
must
 
always
 
be
 
qualified
 
3.
 
Even
 
when
 
it
 
is
 
qualified
 
,
 
should
 
we
 
put
 
ourselves
 
on
 
a
 
moral
 
pedestal
 
and
 
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