Tolerance: what is it, pros and cons

Updated July 24, 2021 692 Author: Dmitry Petrov
Hello, dear readers of the KtoNaNovenkogo.ru blog. In modern society (especially the West), tolerance is promoted as a manifestation of civilization and culture of the individual (what is it?).

It would be nice to figure out what it is. Also, is it always necessary to behave tolerantly?

Let's get a look.

What is tolerance?

Tolerance is a calm and tolerant perception of other people's traditions, rules and norms of behavior. A tolerant attitude does not imply that you need to share someone else’s worldview and live by someone else’s rules. No one should sacrifice their principles. Tolerance only implies that all people are equal and can live the way they want (of course, as long as it does not violate anyone's rights).

The term comes from the Latin word "tolerantia". It is translated into Russian as “tolerance”, which for many sounds very ambiguous. Indeed, the very word “tolerance” has a negative connotation. Its meaning actually boils down to the fact that “there is something that does not suit us, but we tolerate it.” Since this is clearly not what this term should imply, in Russian the word “tolerance” should be used in its original form, and not translated.

Today, a tolerant attitude is most often spoken of in the context of the inadmissibility of discrimination on grounds such as gender, nationality and sexual orientation. In Russia the situation in this regard is ambiguous. There are practically no problems with discrimination based on gender and nationality, but people with non-traditional sexual orientation regularly face hostility.

Why is it important to be kind?

Maybe you shouldn’t be friendly to strangers? Maybe it’s better to be firm in defending your own opinion? Better to say there is no tolerance?

If the development of society goes in this direction, then over time every little thing will provoke a serious conflict. There is no doubt that egregious situations must be resolved unambiguously and harshly. But it is important to distinguish between real and imaginary danger. It is foolish to rush into battle if you are not satisfied with the color of your opponent’s eyes or the shape of his nose. For example, fans of opposing football teams often start fights. And the reason is simple: their favorite clubs compete in a national or international championship.

On the other hand, it is unacceptable to remain silent if the moral problem is truly serious. Just try to convey your complaints as specifically and correctly as possible, without stooping to getting too personal.

Tolerance in psychology

In psychology, the term tolerance refers to the absence of an emotional or behavioral reaction to a certain unfavorable factor. It is important not to confuse it with adaptation, which manifests itself in finding a way to interact that minimizes the negative impact. Tolerance does not manifest itself in adjusting the response, but in a significant reduction in the response threshold.

For example, different people react differently to raising their voice in communication. Some people are not ready to tolerate being shouted at. And someone is completely indifferent to the scream and does not react to it in any way. In this case, they speak of tolerance to this stimulus. It can be formed both unconsciously and consciously if a person understands that it is important for him to adapt to certain living conditions.

Personality characteristics

Continuing to study the given topic, it should be noted that tolerance in psychology is also a sign of intelligence. People who are characterized by this quality are distinguished by high intelligence, because they are able to evaluate phenomena, events and other personalities without bias, despite the fact that they do not correspond to their views.

Such persons can note both positive and negative traits, focusing only on the objective side, without taking into account personal interests.

Tolerance in psychology is also a sign of human culture. someone who respects other people's beliefs and opinions clearly has a developed inner world.

Types of tolerance

This term has many meanings in different fields of knowledge. But today we consider tolerance only in a social context. In this direction, the following types of tolerance can be distinguished:

Political
. Implies respect for people who hold different political views.
Pedagogical
. Respectful attitude towards people, regardless of their education and level of intelligence.
Age
. It is unacceptable to judge a person’s abilities and other qualities based on his age.
Religious
. Inadmissibility of infringement of people holding other religious views.
Gender
. All people, regardless of gender, should have equal rights and opportunities.
Physiological
. Each person is full-fledged, regardless of physical abilities and limitations.

Why is tolerance needed?

In the 21st century, the life of mankind has changed dramatically. Today the world is open as never before, and every year it becomes even more open. Tolerance is necessary in order to improve mutual understanding between different nations, strengthen mutually beneficial cooperation between countries and further accelerate the development of humanity.

Understanding that all people have the right to their own worldview will help avoid serious conflicts in the future. However, no one is obliged to tolerate views, ideas and actions that pose a clear threat to other people. The essence of a tolerant society is to ensure maximum equality and complete security for everyone. Therefore, contrary to the fears of various critics, tolerance does not imply a tolerant attitude towards various manifestations of evil.

Big city – tolerant environment

As a rule, a neutral attitude towards strangers is formed faster in megacities, which are multinational by definition. In large cities you have to establish contacts with representatives of different ethnic groups. Multicultural is easier in the city . Open demonstration of gender and ethnic prejudices will inevitably lead to conflicts and destruction of a comfortable environment. Therefore, in modern urban space, demonstrative xenophobic antics are considered indecent and are rare.

On the contrary, in close and self-contained groups, the intolerant model manifests itself extremely clearly. This is often associated with an increased degree of anxiety within a closed society. Group members perceive a person from the outside as a potential threat to their existence. He is not different, he is dangerous. A stranger is capable of causing harm and destroying the usual way of life. Therefore, the only correct reaction is aggressive rebuff, brutal repression. The same measures are taken if the conditional “friend” ceases to fulfill the requirements. He is also mercilessly ostracized and deprived of his place and position in the community.

The benefits of tolerance

Since not all people correctly understand what tolerance is and what benefits it can provide to modern society, we list the most important of them:

maintaining humanity in human relations;
avoidance of military conflicts (almost all wars of the 20th and 21st centuries took place on the basis of national or religious intolerance);
the opportunity to share experience and knowledge with people around the world;
equal opportunities for every person, regardless of social status and other factors;
the opportunity to travel the world without fear of encountering hostility or even aggression;
joint work of people all over the world to solve global problems (development of humanity, fight against diseases, search for energy sources, etc.).

An important advantage is your own mental balance. Tolerance is a calm attitude towards others. Consequently, a tolerant person always has fewer reasons to worry. He never gets nervous about misunderstandings with other people, because he knows very well that every person has the right to their own views and, of course, the right to make mistakes.

Intolerance (intolerance) and how to recognize it

In their quest to achieve tolerance, people sometimes lose sight of the fact that they do not have moral tolerance , which requires accepting and forgiving the views of others. By force of will, they force themselves to accept other people's beliefs that they cannot tolerate. This happens at the level of moral values, which are suppressed by violence against one’s own personality and are accompanied by stress.

This condition cannot last long. Sometimes a person cannot withstand the tension and breaks down - he acts absolutely intolerantly. He sharply expresses his opinion as the only correct one, rejecting the opinions of others. If this happens to you, you may consider yourself intolerant.

This happens everywhere, we see how people do not accept anyone’s arguments, propagate their own point of view and do not listen to their opponents.

How to recognize a tolerant or intolerant person

Individuals who are characterized by these opposite traits have a number of character traits. To understand whether a person is tolerant or intolerant, pay attention to the following signs:

Sense of humor. The ability to laugh at one's own shortcomings is the most obvious feature of tolerance;
Self-realization. Purposefulness and openness, the ability to respond to requests for help. Intolerant individuals do not empathize, do not know what they want and do not strive to develop;
Harmony within. Intolerants blame the whole world, and praise themselves, attributing to themselves all sorts of virtues (almost like sociopaths);
A sober assessment of yourself. A tolerant individual knows exactly his shortcomings and wants to get rid of them;
Feeling safe. Openness allows tolerant people to feel protected in society. Intolerant individuals see threats everywhere;
Responsibility. The search for reason and reason in everything distinguishes a tolerant person; he is not afraid to answer for his own and even for other people’s words and actions;
Democratic. Listen to your opponent’s opinion and stay with your own. Tolerant people will not persuade at any cost. Dictators who are intolerant by nature and subjugate those around them to their worldview.

Disadvantages of Tolerance

Like any idea, tolerance is not without its weaknesses. In particular, a tolerant society often finds itself vulnerable to certain forms of evil. Appeals to tolerance can be used as a tool for manipulation. For fear of appearing intolerant, people are often forced to make certain concessions, and there will always be those who can take advantage of this.

A serious problem with tolerance is that it is difficult to find the line after which one can say that someone is abusing trust and a tolerant attitude. And it is impossible in principle to solve this problem. There will always be those who take advantage of this for selfish purposes, and those who use such “gaps” as a reason to criticize the fundamental ideas of tolerance.

The main drawback of tolerance today is how this important idea has been distorted by its supporters. Ridiculous and inappropriate propaganda of a tolerant attitude leads to a completely opposite effect. Because of this, many people today misunderstand the meaning of the word “tolerance,” thinking that it is a banal imposition of other people’s values on everyone. I can’t help but remember the saying: “Make a fool pray to God, he’ll bruise his forehead.”