In search of the social: Rethinking toleration, remembering hospitality

This article puts forward a historical and philosophical critique of the concept of toleration that questions it as an ultimate achievement and instead interrogates its limitations and seeks ways in which it may point to its own supercession in more positive and durable social bonds. The violence wh...

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Bibliographic Details
Main Author: Evy Varsamopoulou
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Taylor & Francis Group 2015-12-01
Series:Cogent Arts & Humanities
Subjects:
Online Access:http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/23311983.2015.1084907
Description
Summary:This article puts forward a historical and philosophical critique of the concept of toleration that questions it as an ultimate achievement and instead interrogates its limitations and seeks ways in which it may point to its own supercession in more positive and durable social bonds. The violence which toleration historically aimed at containing remains a constant in present-day recourses to its relevancy, while the negative valuations of human interrelations that underlie such assessments are passed over. Reflections on genocide through the thought of Levinas prove the primal nature of the law of hospitality, while, following Aristotle, friendship, rather than marriage, safeguards society from violent conflict.
ISSN:2331-1983