Tolerance

This book aims at defining the thematic and lexical fields of tolerance in the Dutch and Italian culture of the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries. It shows the progression from the ancient virtue of tolerance of an exclusively Christian theme to the right of freedom of religion and conscience.

What does it mean to reflect on tolerance today in a global world? What meanings does the word tolerance contain? This book aims at defining the thematic and lexical fields of tolerance in the Dutch and Italian culture of the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries, taking into account works of Grotius and Locke, Spinoza, Bayle and Noodt, Voltaire and Barbeyrac, Conforti and Tamburini. It shows the progression from the ancient virtue of tolerance of an exclusively Christian theme to the right of freedom of religion and conscience. This study may be a useful point of reference for understanding the myths and misunderstandings, the ambiguities and contradictions on which the rights of our time are based.

Autorentext

Fabrizio Lomonaco is Professor of History of Philosophy at the University of Naples «Federico II». As a member of the editorial boards, he is involved with following journals: «Archivio di storia della cultura» (Naples), «Bollettino del Centro di studi vichiani» (Rome), «The Low Countries Historical Review» (Den Haag), and «Post filosofie» (Bari). He is Director of «Civiltà del Mediterraneo» (Naples) and «Logos» (Naples) and has written essays relating to the 17th-18th centuries Holland and Southern Italian thought.

Inhalt

Contents: Tolerance in Ancient Times? - From the virtue of Tolerance to the Freedom of Religion: towards Spinoza - The Primacy of Holland and the Teachings of Locke - Freedom of Conscience, History and Civil Tolerance from Barbeyrac to Voltaire - From Holland to Italy: the Conforti Case.