3 ms·
Almost every position can be framed as a demand for tolerance. I just want to drive above the speed limit. I'm not hurting anyone. You can drive in whatever spe
by amadeuspagel 8y ago
Almost every position can be framed as a demand for tolerance. I just want to drive above the speed limit. I'm not hurting anyone. You can drive in whatever speed you prefer. Everyone who tries to stop me is intolerant.
So implicit in calling someone "intolerant" without qualification is "intolerant of these things, that I think should be tolerated". This is how "I can tolerate everything except intolerance" becomes "I can tolerate anything except the outgroup"[1], that is, those people that have different ideas about what should and shouldn't be tolerated.
[1] https://slatestarcodex.com/2014/09/30/i-can-tolerate-anything-except-the-outgroup/ https://slatestarcodex.com/2014/09/30/i-can-tolerate-anythin...
- pastor_williams 8y agoI think there is definitely a bit of sleight of hand going on in order for people to describe whatever outgroup they want as intolerant. In the footnote where he describes the paradox, Popper describes the intolerant's actions as: 1. being unwilling to engage in rational argument 2. forbidding their followers from listening to rational argument 3. teaching their followers to answer rational argument with violence Usually when I see someone bring up the paradox of tolerance it is because they do not want to engage in rational argument and instead seek to justify pre-emptive violence against a person or group that is at most expressing intolerant opinions.