Tolerance and modern liberalism : from paradox to aretaic moral ideal / René González de la Vega.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

González de la Vega, René, author.

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Toleration.

Liberalism.

Ethics.

Physical Description:

xviii, 231 pages ; 24 cm

Place of Publication:

Lanham : Lexington Books, [2017]

Summary:

Modern liberal societies are submerged in conflict and disagreement. People disagree about almost everything-not only about matters of justice, but also about issues that are more private. They disagree on how to interpret freedom and equality; they disagree and even experience conflict with issues regarding the use of a veil, or children wearing crucifixes in public spaces. They also enter into conflict and disagreement regarding issues such as homosexuality, extramarital sex, drugs, euthanasia, abortion, suicide, and experimentation on animals. All these issues can be understood as moral problems, but we also have disagreements concerning other topics that are unrelated to moral issues. For modern liberals, the existence of such conflicts is due to the possibility of people, bearing the right to disagree, expressing themselves in a free and equal way. This freedom is indeed one of the biggest triumphs in the history of liberalism: many societies have come to be constituted by autonomous and free individuals who have the capacity to choose their lives and the values that will guide them. In the middle of this panorama, tolerance plays an extremely important role for liberal thinking. Without tolerance, disagreements and conflicts will hardly coexist or be resolved in a peaceful manner. Liberals say that despite the fact that there is a plurality of values and diversity within the different lifestyles, we should tolerate all those who do not agree with our own values. On this view, tolerance becomes a key element for the flourishing and progression of moral life. Yet liberals should ask themselves: is modern liberalism's structure of practical reason compatible with the moral ideal of tolerance? René González de la Vega argues that liberal deontological theories cannot give proper answers to the main problems raised by the moral ideal of tolerance. Tolerance and Modern Liberalism: From Paradox to Aretaic Moral Ideal will be of interest to students and scholars of political and moral philosophy, political theory, and law, including those who focus on human rights and on deontological liberalism. Book jacket.

Contents:

I The Premises of Modern Liberalism

1 Three Philosophical Claims 3

2 The Rational and Reasonable 27

3 The Moral System 43

II The Liberal Idea of Tolerance

4 Regarding the Concept 53

5 On Relevant Convictions 61

6 About the Power and Competence to Tolerate 77

III Tolerance in Modern Liberalism

7 Tolerance as Reasonableness: John Rawls's Conception 91

8 Tolerance and the Two Normative Systems: Ernesto Garzon Valdes's Conception 97

9 Tolerance as a Virtue of Justice: Rainer Forst's Conception 107

10 Tolerance and the Moral System 115

IV The Moral Paradox of Tolerance

11 The Limits of Tolerance 121

12 Tolerance and the Conceptions of the Good 129

13 Tolerance as a Moral Dilemma 143

14 Tolerance in the Moral System 161

V The Aretaic Turn

15 The Practical Impossibility of Tolerance 171

16 Tolerance as a Dispositional Property 193

17 The Contextual Response 205.

Notes:

Includes bibliographical references and index.

ISBN:

9781498529068

1498529062

OCLC:

964568132