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The philosopher Karl Popper published what came to be known as the Paradox of Tolerance in his book "The Open Society and Its Enemies" in 1945.

It dealt with the question of how a society that promotes tolerance is to deal with those who are intolerant.

#Paradox #philosophy

Meme titled The Paradox of Tolerance with text on the left and an image of the book "The Open Society and its Enemies" on the right. The text reads: Less well known [than other paradoxes] is the paradox of tolerance: Unlimited tolerance must lead to the disappearance of tolerance. If we extend unlimited tolerance even to those who are intolerant, if we are not prepared to defend a tolerant society against the onslaught of the intolerant, then the tolerant will be destroyed, and tolerance with them. —In this formulation, I do not imply, for instance, that we should always suppress the utterance of intolerant philosophies; as long as we can counter them by rational argument and keep them in check by public opinion, suppression would certainly be most unwise. But we should claim the right to suppress them if necessary even by force; for it may easily turn out that they are not prepared to meet us on the level of rational argument, but begin by denouncing all argument; they may forbid their followers to listen to rational argument, because it is deceptive, and teach them to answer arguments by the use of their fists or pistols. We should therefore claim, in the name of tolerance, the right not to tolerate the intolerant. ~Excerpt from philosopher Karl Popper's The Open Society and Its Enemies, published 1945
#philosophy #paradox
in reply to Zhi Zhu 🕸️

Zhi Zhu 🕸️
mastodon - Link to source
Zhi Zhu 🕸️
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In 2017, Yonatan Zunger published his essay, "Tolerance is not a moral precept" in which he said:

"Tolerance is not a moral absolute; it is a peace treaty.
...
[And] the model of a peace treaty differs from the model of a moral precept in one simple way:
the protection of a peace treaty only extends to those willing to abide by its terms.

It is an agreement to live in peace,
not an agreement to be peaceful no matter the conduct of others."

~Yonatan Zunger
extranewsfeed.com/tolerance-is…

Meme with text: An Answer to the Paradox of Tolerance "Tolerance is not a moral absolute; it is a peace treaty. ... [And] the model of a peace treaty differs from the model of a moral precept in one simple way: the protection of a peace treaty only extends to those willing to abide by its terms. It is an agreement to live in peace, not an agreement to be peaceful no matter the conduct of others." ~Yonatan Zunger https://extranewsfeed.com/tolerance-is-not-a-moral-precept-1af7007d6376

Tolerance is not a moral precept - Extra Newsfeed

The title of this essay should disturb you. We have been brought up to believe that tolerating other people is one of the things you do if you’re a nice person — whether we learned this in…
Yonatan Zunger (Extra Newsfeed)
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in reply to Zhi Zhu 🕸️

Zhi Zhu 🕸️
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Zhi Zhu 🕸️
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When discussing Zunger's article (tolerance as a peace treaty, and thus not a paradox), several people in the discussion were confused by the idea of a "peace treaty" between members of their own society.

The idea of a social contract made more sense to them. And the discussion inspired me to create the following meme:

#Meme #Paradox #Tolerance

Meme with a paradox cube in the upper right corner and the following text: The Paradox of Tolerance disappears if you look at tolerance, not as a moral standard, but as a social contract. If someone does not abide by the terms of the contract, then they are not covered by it. In other words: The intolerant are not following the rules of the social contract of mutual tolerance. Since they have broken the terms of the contract, they are no longer covered by the contract, and their intolerance should NOT be tolerated. [in a smaller font] inspired by “Tolerance is not a moral precept” by Yonatan Zunger Watermark: ZmemeZ
#meme #tolerance #paradox
This entry was edited (3 years ago)

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in reply to Zhi Zhu 🕸️

Zhi Zhu 🕸️
mastodon - Link to source
Zhi Zhu 🕸️
• •

The Paradox of Tolerance disappears if you look at tolerance, not as a moral standard, but as a social contract.

If someone does not abide by the terms of the contract, then they are not covered by it.

In other words: The intolerant are not following the rules of the social contract of mutual tolerance.

Since they have broken the terms of the contract, they are no longer covered by the contract, and their intolerance should NOT be tolerated.

[inspired by “Tolerance is not a moral precept”]

Meme with a paradox cube in the upper right corner and the following text: The Paradox of Tolerance disappears if you look at tolerance, not as a moral standard, but as a social contract. If someone does not abide by the terms of the contract, then they are not covered by it. In other words: The intolerant are not following the rules of the social contract of mutual tolerance. Since they have broken the terms of the contract, they are no longer covered by the contract, and their intolerance should NOT be tolerated. [in a smaller font] inspired by “Tolerance is not a moral precept” by Yonatan Zunger Watermark: ZmemeZ

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