On Tolerance

Wignall, Aidan Jacob

Item

On Tolerance

Wignall, Aidan Jacob

Abstract

The purpose of this thesis is to explore the concept of tolerance. This exploration centerson the research question of what is tolerance? In pursuit of answering this question, twoapproaches are taken. The first approach is a conceptual analysis of tolerance. This involves adescription of the central semantic contents of tolerance as well as Rainer Forst’s generalizedconceptions of tolerance. Fort’s conceptions provide a model for describing differentinterpretations of the semantic contents within the concept of tolerance. The second approach is aconceptual history of tolerance. This approach involves a description of historical andphilosophical conceptions of tolerance. The purpose of this approach is to clarify why and howtolerance has been utilized. The final chapter of this thesis is dedicated to describing apsychologically based utility of tolerance. The purpose of this chapter is to illustrates themultivalent nature of tolerance by expanding its application away from the traditional arenas ofpolitics and religion.