Description: This collection of essays explores conceptions of toleration and tolerance in Asia and the West. It tests the assumption in contemporary Western political discourse and theory that toleration is a uniquely Western virtue and finds that many other traditions have comparable ide...
Brief description: Scott L. Pratt is Professor of Philosophy at the University of Oregon, USA.
Review Quotes: "Vicki A. Spencer has brought together a distinguished group of scholars from across the globe with the shared aim of challenging the complacent view held by many contemporary philosophers that the idea of toleration is a wholly modern phenomenon, founded on liberalism and distinctively Western in origin. The contributors disrupt these assumptions by means of careful examination of writings reflecting a broad range of intellectual traditions, including Islam, Buddhism, Confucianism, Hinduism, and Native American thought, as well as unappreciated Western sources of tolerant principles. These authors collectively reveal not only the limitations of modern Occidental chauvinism concerning tolerance, but also the conceptual strengths of alternative approaches to the philosophy of liberalism commonly regarded to be coextensive with the theory of toleration per se. Taken as a whole, this book represents a significant step forward in our understanding of the many possible paths that the defense of a tolerant respect for human diversity might follow." --Cary Nederman, Texas A&M University