International Educational Conference 2025 Post-conference publication | Page 8

KEYNOTE LECTURE

The Prospects for Tolerance in the 21st Century

The keynote lecture was delivered by Prof. Dr. Bernd Simon, a Professor of Social and Political

Psychology at Kiel University, Germany. Simon investigates inter- and intragroup processes, with particular emphasis on minority-majority relations and issues of identity, politicization, power, respect, and tolerance. In 2018, he founded the Tolerance Research Unit Kiel.

“Is Tolerance Enough?” paraphrased the title of the conference Prof. Dr. Bernd Simon, opening the inauguration key lecture. “I don’t know, but I certainly assume it is necessary,” added Simon, discussing the complexities of tolerance and highlighting its contentious nature in both social and academic contexts. Simon drew on philosopher Tim Scanlon's framework, positing that tolerance exists between complete acceptance and outright opposition, where disapproval is a fundamental aspect of tolerance.

He emphasized that respect acted as a necessary restraining force that enabled tolerance, noting that perceptions of good or bad were often linked to the experience of collective identity. Moreover, shared collective identity led to the emphasis on similarities within the group and the understanding of respect as equality recognition. “The implication is that the group boundaries are also boundaries of respect,” noted Simon. Nevertheless, the concept offered the possibility to include the collective identity at a given level of categorization between "us" (in-group) and "them" (out-group) into a higher-level collective identity, in which respect for “them” as equals was possible.