184. - Toleration

Summary

Spinoza made an important contribution to the development of the modern idea of religious toleration. The primary meaning of “tolerate” is to endure and to forbear from persecuting people with ideas and beliefs that one finds wrong or offensive. It can also mean to learn to accept a view that one formerly found wrong or offensive. Although Spinoza devotes most of his work, especially in the TTP, to justifying forbearance, he also discusses in the Ethics how we might be able to accept the different views of others as part of the good life. Spinoza argues that: (1) the state should refrain from persecuting views that do not conflict with its basic interest in security and stability; (2) religious groups do not have to accept the views of others but they should refrain from invoking sovereign state power to coerce anyone who holds views they deem problematic that are nonetheless consistent with collective stability and security; and (3) individuals should (a) obey the tolerant constraints imposed by the state on the grounds of faith, and (b) ideally develop a virtuous disposition of generosity toward those who hold different beliefs.