|
|
|
|
Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam > Blaise Pascal Instituut > Girard Studiekring > COV&R 2007 > Abstracts Papers
Trevor Cribben Merrill
The Definitions of Tolerance
Email - Profile - Subtheme # 1/4 - Paper
ABSTRACT
The French essayist and novelist Pascal Bruckner published a fiery essay
earlier this year entitled "La tyrannie de la pénitence" ("The Tyranny
of Penitence") and subtitled "essai sur le masochisme occidental"
("essay on Western masochism").
Though the book is clearly written from a French perspective, it purports to address a question that extends beyond French borders, touching not only other European countries but the United States too, namely the politically correct (and condescending) tendency to harp on Western and Judeo-Christian victimization while excusing the violence of foreign cultures. On the lips of many today, "tolerance" has become synonymous with this Western masochism, disguising (with the best intentions in the world) our inability to formulate Western values positively in the wake of our twentieth century disasters, totaltiarianism and national socialism.
It is
time to examine the word "tolerance" in its historical light,
tracing its use in the modern period from the Wars of Religion through to
the present day. From a concept implying an unacceptable quietism in the
face of evil, the word has come to stand for an attitude of superior moral
value. How did this transformation take place?
-------------------------------------
A PhD student at UCLA, Trevor Cribben Merrill presented at last year's COV&R conference in Ottawa, Canada. He is currently a pensionnaire etranger at the ENS in Paris, working on a dissertation on the Enlightenment and the concept of ethnocentrism.
UCLA
Department of French and Francophone Studies
Ecole Normale Superieure
45 Rue d'Ulm