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> Karl Popper called this the "Paradox of Tolerance." Popper was talking about a last resort, not something which should be applied as a blanket policy of supp
by AndrewBissell 9y ago
> Karl Popper called this the "Paradox of Tolerance."
Popper was talking about a last resort, not something which should be applied as a blanket policy of suppression of "unacceptable" viewpoints.
This gross misreading of Popper's thoughts on free speech was popularized by a cartoon which went flying around social media after Charlottesville. But here's what he actually said on the subject:
> 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 unwise.
- woodruffw 9y agoI was familiar with Popper well before Charlottesville, and that footnote only refers to the same paradox, not the same argument. In any case, Sarte seems more applicable to our current rash of "ironic" intolerance: > Never believe that anti-Semites are completely unaware of the absurdity of their replies. They know that their remarks are frivolous, open to challenge. But they are amusing themselves, for it is their adversary who is obliged to use words responsibly, since he believes in words. The anti-Semites have the right to play. They even like to play with discourse for, by giving ridiculous reasons, they discredit the seriousness of their interlocutors. They delight in acting in bad faith, since they seek not to persuade by sound argument but to intimidate and disconcert. If you press them too closely, they will abruptly fall silent, loftily indicating by some phrase that the time for argument is past.