Intolerance: The E. Coli of the Human Mind

In this set of four discussions, Professor Donald Akenson deals with the notion that intolerance lies at the heart of our culture. Like some endemic biological entity, it can be controlled, but its dangers are ever present. Professor Akenson's observations break into two parts. In the first two lectures, he works at a fairly abstract level and deals with the fundamental tensions inherent within the Judaeo-Christian tradition. These tensions, he believes, can be best controlled if  they are recognised, rather than hidden behind a miasma of uninformed good-will. He calls for Christians and Jews (and all those, now unaffiliated, but with heritage in those religions) to study seriously each other's faith and to learn to respect irreconcilable differences as well as to enable commonality.