Abstract

In this interview, Emanuela Ceva points to some of the practical and political issues (alongside various conceptual disagreements) associated with toleration. In particular, she stresses the centrality of l’affaire du foulard that galvanized contemporary discussions on toleration and the accommodation of diversity in general. Of particular relevance is her emphasis on the danger that the inflatory use of concepts such as toleration brings. In the final section of this interview, she accentuates the importance of studying the historical aspect of toleration as well as understanding that ‘the normative study of toleration […] seems to be an important feature of a public ethics for diverse democratic societies. […] To study toleration within this context is important to understand the extent to which the capacity to deal with diversity in a respectful manner, whether this means through forbearance or recognition, is an important way to grapple with human diversity and ensure that the richness of human forms of life is nurtured and not endangered’.