Reflections on the Notion of Contextual Toleration as A Personal Virtue. An Evaluation of the Discussion about Liberalism and Tolerance

Abstract

The present contribution revisits the discussion around the work of René González de la Vega on liberalism and tolerance published in 2015 in the XVI number of Revista Discusiones. The debate focuses on González de la Vega's criticism of the compatibility between the moral ideal of tolerance and the structure of practical reasoning of deontological liberalism based on moral universalism. To overcome this objection, he proposes a contextual theory grounded in a moderate particularism. In this contribution, I examine his approach in the light of the social and ideological changes that are transforming our societies into a highly polarized world.