This master’s thesis provides a critical inquiry into Rainer Forst’s theory of toleration, including a descriptive section and a normative critical stance of said theory. Being placed in the tradition of critical theory, also applied as the theoretical framework, and using a hermeneutics methodology when approaching the material, the aim is to provide a close reading of Forst’s texts. The research question of the thesis is What are the possibilities and limits of Forst’s theory of toleration when applied to a democratic political community? The descriptive section of Forst's theory of toleration includes sections comprising of what constitutes the domain of toleration, the components and foundation of toleration, and toleration in relation to virtue and politics. In essence, Forst proposes a principle of justification as the foundation of toleration, mainly derived from his political theory of justification, practiced in a reciprocal and universal manner of the participants in a system combined with a reflexive component. The critique includes components of toleration in relation to the need of tradition, ambivalence in relation to the claims of the intolerants, and how spontaneity is needed in contrast to the mechanistic view mainly proposed by Forst. Other sections of the critique include the relation of toleration and whom can participate in the domain of it, inter- and intra-group deviances regarding power and perspective, but also a discussion of toleration and religious minorities – mainly focused on bodily integrity. The critique includes the suggestion that one should approach the question of toleration from a discursive virtue ethics position, a stance that should be developed further during future research. The discussion at the end of the thesis includes a section of the future of toleration and a self-reflexive discussion of theory in relation to the thesis.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:UPSALLA1/oai:DiVA.org:uu-322978 |
| Date | January 2017 |
| Creators | Langby, Martin |
| Publisher | Uppsala universitet, Etik |
| Source Sets | DiVA Archive at Upsalla University |
| Language | English |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Student thesis, info:eu-repo/semantics/bachelorThesis, text |
| Format | application/pdf |
| Rights | info:eu-repo/semantics/openAccess |
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