Publication details
Tolerance as Suppressed Disapproval
| Authors | |
|---|---|
| Year of publication | 2022 |
| Type | Article in Periodical |
| Magazine / Source | Telos |
| MU Faculty or unit | |
| Citation | |
| Web | |
| Doi | http://dx.doi.org/10.3817/0622199107 |
| Keywords | tolerance; expressivism; liberalism |
| Attached files | |
| Description | In this text, I am going to deal with the concept of tolerance. I ask the question: What do we do when we tolerate something? There is a simple answer: To tolerate something means not to disapprove of it. But this answer is wrong because it does not distinguish tolerance from approval and indifference. I will argue that tolerance is a second-order attitude. To tolerate something means to suppress one’s own disapproval of it. Tolerance is based on the ability of an individual to self-control, to endure and to forbear. My approach has a paradoxical consequence. Tolerance is traditionally understood as a typically liberal attitude or virtue. But when we properly understand the concept of tolerance, we will see that tolerance has a limited role to play in a liberal society. This paradoxical consequence can be resolved by distinguishing positive and negative liberalism. You can be a liberal person in virtue of your liberal views and/or in virtue of your tolerance. |
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