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Plurality of the Good? The Problem of Affirmative Tolerance in a Multicultural Society from an Ethical Point of View
Author(s) -
Apel KarlOtto
Publication year - 1997
Publication title -
ratio juris
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.344
H-Index - 10
eISSN - 1467-9337
pISSN - 0952-1917
DOI - 10.1111/1467-9337.00055
Subject(s) - multiculturalism , transcendental number , duty , epistemology , sociology , discourse ethics , variety (cybernetics) , value (mathematics) , meaning (existential) , ethical theory , environmental ethics , philosophy , law , political science , mathematics , pedagogy , statistics
Starting from the problem of tolerance in a multicultural society, the author undermines the limits of a classical‐liberal foundation (negative tolerance) and suggests the need for a new meaning: a positive concern of tolerance implying appreciation of a variety of social cultures and value traditions. On an ethical level, positive tolerance can be grounded in the Discourse Theory, developing the classical Kantian deontological ethics in a transcendental‐pragmatic and in a transcendental‐hermeneutic sense. In this way, discourse ethics can answer two questions posed by tolerance in a multicultural society: the duty to support all in the pursuit of their ideals and realize positive tolerance as well as its restrictions.