Tolerance is a Moral Virtue by Rivka

  

Kakatiya University Warangal Degree Semester 5 -unit 1

Tolerance is a Moral Virtue by Rivka T. Witenberg.

About the author

Rivka T.Witenberg is a developmental and cognitive psychologist and a writer. She published her books Tolerance: The Glue That Binds Us  in 2017, and The Psychology of Tolerance in 2019.

About the text

(Tolerance=The ability or practice of tolerating; an acceptance or patience with the beliefs, opinions or practices of others. 

Prejudice= An adverse judgment or opinion formed beforehand or without knowledge of the facts.) 

Rivka opines that tolerance is related to morality and should be counted as a moral virtue. Unfortunately, tolerance is mixed up with prejudice. Psychological researchers examined the children’s understanding of tolerance through prejudice but not through morality. The assumption is that lack of prejudice implies that a person is tolerant. 

According to the writer, prejudice and tolerance are two different theoretical concepts, but both exist in most of us. The word tolerance has a Latin origin, which is most commonly seen negatively. She says that tolerance is a moral virtue that must be practiced actively and consciously in order to build and maintain harmony in society.

Recent philosophers argue that we should regard tolerance as a positive civic and moral duty between individuals. She believes that tolerance is an important element in keeping society united and a remedy for intolerance and prejudice. John Locke, John Stuart Mill and other civil libertarians argue that tolerant people value the individual independence, and freedom of choice.

The writer's research concludes that fairness and empathy are the best indicators of tolerance in a diverse human society.

Empathy and morality

Psychologists consider empathy the most important motivator for moral and unselfish behavior. Empathetic people place themselves in others shoes and understand their pathetic situation.

Placing tolerance in the moral domain allows for an alternative educational approach to promote harmonious intergroup relationships. Tolerance has a great role in building a peaceful world.