Tolerance
Tolerance, in a social, cultural and religious sense, is the acceptance of other people who hold different and disagreeing beliefs, or otherwise represent ideologies or cultures that have a history of being disrespected. Tolerance then would be akin to pity. More generally the term is used with regard to behavior that is not mainstream/normal. So one may be tolerant but still privately categorize behavior as aberrant.
Tolerance is weaker than respect: a disagreeable party may still be disapproved of, and interaction may be limited to what is necessary, the disagreeable party is simply left undisturbed.Tolerance then is not as powerful a motivator as respect. It sounds like a matter of fearfulness then: one tolerates what one does not respect. Disapproval is still part of the tolerance picture.
Tolerance cannot be neutral about what is good, though, for its very purpose is to guard good and avert evils. The circumstantial element in the practice of tolerance is right judgment of greater ends against lesser ends.the logical conclusion being that lesser ends may be sacrificed to greater ends, and that Tolerance, not being neutral will "guard good.
The term is also used with a more negative connotation with regard to disorderly conduct and small crimes; e.g. there may be a zero tolerance policy towards drugs and violence.
Tolerance as an ideal suffers from a Catch-22-type problem, illustrated by the following quote: There's only one thing I can't tolerate - and that's intolerance (Unattributed).
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2 Tolerance in Physiology 3 Tolerance in Engineering 4 See also 5 External Link |
As an Aristotelian virtue, tolerance is a mean between softheadedness on the one hand (overtolerance) and narrow mindedness on the other (undertolerance).
In Christianity, with regard to the one's former way of life, there is a need to put off the old self which is being corrupted by its deceitful desires (prejudice, bigotry, and intolerance), and be renewed in the spirit of the mind. There is also a corresponding need to put on the new self, which was created to be like God, in righteousness and true holiness (tolerance, forbearance, and leniency).
In physiology, tolerance occurs when an organism builds up a resistance to the effects of a substance after repeated exposure. This can occur with environmental substances such as salt or pesticides. It is also commonly encountered in pharmacology, when a subject's reaction to a drug (such as a painkiller or intoxicant) decreases so that larger doses are required to achieve the same effect. See drug tolerance; tachyphylaxis and desensitization.
Tolerance as a Virtue
Tolerance in Physiology
Tolerance in Engineering
Specificiations for engineered components intended for manufacturing provide tolerances for critical dimensions or other properties (such as resistance) to reflect that variances occur in manufacturing processes. Tolerance can be expressed as plus or minus or as a percentage. For example, a measurement might be expressed as 5mm +/- 0.004mm, meaning that the intended measurement is exactly 5mm but that components measuring between 4.996mm and 5.004mm are also acceptable. In this context see also statistical process control.