摘要：As any other subject, a philosophical definition of the principle of tolerance shows temporal and historical origins. We all know that in modern times philosophy stood for tolerance against those religious struggles which bathed Europe in blood for a long time. After that, the same principle was extended to oppose political intolerance and absolutism. In recent times, it has finally acquired the general meaning that today involves all aspects of our social life, turning into a moral rule and a symbol of the civil human society. Thus, tolerance becomes a universal habit, an absolute practical virtue, released from any historical contingency. It does not only enforce full respect for all religious beliefs and freedom of expression for all philosophical and political ideas, but also claims the acknowledgement of personal and public life styles that prove to be eccentric or alien to traditional and common standards. To such a great extent, the principle of tolerance bespeaks the true essence of the ideal democratic society. But in practice this principle should naturally imply some exceptions and in the first place the definite banishment of those who neither partially nor fully believe in tolerance or apply it.
