Tolerance Beyond Tolerance

The question of tolerance has been extensively debated in the West, offering various interpretations that lean in two major directions, universalist or relativist, neither of which offer a satisfying response. Souleymane Bachir Diagne addresses this problem by challenging both directions, expressing how both universalism and relativism define themselves negatively on the basis of otherness or difference. The Senegalese philosopher offers a viable alternative in the form of lateral universality, which offers a horizontal approach to universality, moving away from a Eurocentric universalism by recognizing the importance of both similarity and difference as the core of tolerance. Diagne argues that through the process of translation, lateral universality allows for engagement with otherness (or the particular) on the basis of a meaningful inter-personal or inter-cultural exchange. Although not as emphasized in his writings, in addition to horizontal (lateral) universality, Diagne hints at a vertical one, moving beyond the universal through the particular to the particular through the universal. To show how vertical universality, which highlights the importance of transformation and unity (rather than uniformity), contributes to tolerance, I engage the works of Amadou Hampâté Bâ and Tierno Bokar to develop and illustrate this concept

Horizontal and vertical · Relativism · Universalism · Evolutionary Psychology and Human Behavior · Race, Genetics, and Society · Social and Intergroup Psychology