Justifying Toleration: Conceptual and Historical Perspectives

by Susan Mendus

This book traces the growth of philosophical justifications of toleration. The contributors discuss the grounds on which we may be required to be tolerant and the proper limits of toleration. They consider the historical and conceptual relation between toleration and scepticism and ask whether toleration is justified by considerations of autonomy or of prudence. The papers cover a range of perspectives on the subject, including Marxist and Socialist as well as liberal views. The editor's introduction prepares the ground by discussing the essential features of the subject and offers a lucid survey of the theories and arguments put forward in the book. The collection arises out of the Morrell Toleration Project at the University of York and all the papers were written as contributions to that project. The discussion will be of interest to specialists in philosophy, in political and social theory and in intellectual history.

272 pages, Paperback

First published April 28, 1988

About the author

Susan Lesley Mendus, CBE, FBA, FLSW is a Welsh academic specializing in political philosophy. She is Professor Emerita of Political Philosophy at the University of York.