A natureza e a justificação da tolerância na tradição liberal: entre neutralidade e perfeccionismo

Abstract

This thesis investigates the nature and the justification of toleration in the liberal tradition, a value intrinsically linked to freedom of conscience and autonomy and essential for coexistence in plural societies. Starting from the recognition of the historical evolution of the concept since its precursors like Locke and Bayle, and analyzing contributions from Mill and Rawls, the work focuses on contemporary theoretical disputes in plural liberal democracies. For this purpose, the Neutralist and Perfectionist matrices of liberalism are contrasted, analyzed based on the works of Ronald Dworkin and Joseph Raz, respectively. It is critically examined how each approach grounds tolerance and the challenges they face, such as the difficulty of neutralism in differentiating tolerance from indifference and concerns about the potential intolerance of perfectionism when promoting specific conceptions of a good life. The conceptual analysis of tolerance reveals its complexity, its paradoxes, and the need for a justification that goes beyond mere modus vivendi. It is argued that the claim of a strict state neutrality proves insufficient and unrealizable for the legal and political order in contexts of deep pluralism. It is defended, in contrast, that tolerance, understood as the justified decision not to interfere in disapproved conducts or beliefs based on shareable ethical reasons (and not out of mere indifference), is a more adequate principle. This form of tolerance allows the State to defend essential liberal values (such as autonomy and liberty) necessary for the preservation of pluralism and democratic institutions, without resorting to illegitimate coercion. It is demonstrated how law, through the concept of “legal toleration” exemplified by conscience exemptions, operates in this balance between disapproval and permission in the name of higher values like social peace and liberty. The thesis concludes that this active and legally informed tolerance is fundamental for the maintenance of liberal democracies in the face of the continuous challenges of a markedly plural world.