‘Tolerance requires us to accept people and permit their practices even when we strongly disapprove of them’ (T. Scanlon) How do liberals justifying such a course of action and how far does their tolerance stretch?

Running Head : TOLERANCE

Tolerance and Liberalism

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Tolerance and Liberalism

Introduction

What does it mean to be a tolerant society ? The scholarly answer to this question , though nuanced , has been surprisingly uniform . The dominant account of tolerance in American , European as well as Australian societies more generally , is something approaching the "Live and Let Live " credo . They believe that tolerance requires them to put up with the objectionable thoughts , speech and acts of their neighbours , so long as these neighbours are not threatening

. This standard account of tolerance is primarily liberal - because individuals have , or should have , a right to believe as they choose , others must , out of moral necessity , be tolerant (Mill 1993

Tolerance , according to this account , is conceptualised as a moral value emanating from virtues such as conscience , autonomy and the right to pursue one 's own conception of the good (Locke 1993 Richards 1986 . For most political and legal scholars , tolerance is a liberal virtue - nothing more , nothing less (Heyd 1996 ) Conceptualising tolerance as liberal tolerance , however , is similar to asking for a "Coke " when what one really wants is a soda . Tolerance , the abstract concept , has become synonymous with only one of its brands - the liberal brand . This discusses how liberals justify tolerance and how far does their tolerance stretches

Tolerance and Liberal Tolerance Defined

Tolerance is not merely a descriptive concept . It is an interpretive term - that is it incorporates both the descriptive (what tolerance means ) and the normative (what tolerance should mean (Dworkin 1986 The concept of tolerance cannot exist outside of a normative political framework in which it derives its meaning . Tolerance , in the political sense of the word , is best thought of as a normative value rather than a descriptive definition . When we speak of tolerance in political affairs we often say "tolerance is , when what we should really say is "tolerance requires

Although scholars disagree over the precise definition of tolerance there is a general consensus in Western society about what tolerance means and what it should mean . Put simply , liberal society believe that tolerance requires people to put up with other people 's tastes , wants beliefs , speech , and sometimes , public acts . Actually , tolerance comes from the Latin word tolerare meaning to put up with . Tolerance according to the dictionary definition , is the act of putting up with allowing , permitting or not interfering . This conventional definition - putting up with distasteful behaviour - represents various empirical assumptions about human behaviour , and more importantly , normative assumptions about how individuals should behave

The dictionary definition , at first blush , appears to be devoid of normative political values , but the normative foundations lie just beneath the surface . The liberal conception of tolerance consists of two main components , each of which is a normative requirement for regarding behaviour as tolerant . First , the conventional conception requires the tolerator to disapprove o /others ' views , beliefs or behaviour . This may be called the requirement of disapproval . Most liberal theories maintain that tolerance should only apply to...