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condition for toleration, but not a sufficient one. In Section III, I present what I consider a sufficient condition: the tendency towards homogenization that accompanies globalization. This homogenization translates from the economic to the cultural sphere. I argue that the strains of pluralism are eased with greater resemblance between individuals from different ethnocultural backgrounds. I ask whether the Internet does not constitute a global public sphere within which the discourse on toleration and pluralism can be extended. In the next chapter I discuss this question in detail.
I. We do have a Nature
At the outset I would like to make it clear that I use the term 'human nature' to describe what is in our nature as a species, what we all have in common, independent of culture or ethnicity. One of Bhiku Parekh's criticisms of liberalism, as I pointed out in Chapter 1, is that it equates a theory of human nature with a theory of human beings. He is not quite precise on this distinction, except to affirm that 'human nature' is culturally embedded and is not the same from culture to culture. I shall not quibble with the niceties of Parekh's distinction. I would merely like to point out that to deny that we do have a nature is to adopt what the English philosopher Mary Midgley has called the 'Blank Paper' view, that we have no instincts at all.4
I argue that we do have a nature. I take it as unproblematic that this nature is something we may share with other species. This does not alter the
Object Description
| Title | Negotiating pluralism and tribalism in liberal democratic societies |
| Author | Sadagopan, Shoba |
| Author email | sadagopa@usc.edu; shobasadagopan@gmail.com |
| Degree | Doctor of Philosophy |
| Document type | Dissertation |
| Degree program | Philosophy |
| School | College of Letters, Arts and Sciences |
| Date defended/completed | 2008-08-22 |
| Date submitted | 2008 |
| Restricted until | Unrestricted |
| Date published | 2008-10-15 |
| Advisor (committee chair) | Lloyd, Sharon |
| Advisor (committee member) |
Dreher, John Keating, Gregory |
| Abstract | My aim in this dissertation is to enquire whether toleration as a practice is achievable. It is prior to the question of how it can be grounded as a virtue. I argue that in liberal democratic societies where there are struggles for recognition on the part of ethnocultural groups, it is possible to negotiate pluralism and tribalism in a way that a stable pluralist society can be maintained. My core thesis rests on a theory of interdependence based both on a theory of human nature and on the material fact of globalization. Insofar as we affirm our nature as human beings engaged in productive activity with other human beings, insofar as we value a world that facilitates that activity, toleration is desirable. It is achievable because with globalization there is a tendency towards homogenization that erodes cultural differences. There is less reason for conflict because what we have in common, our interdependence, goes far deeper than culture. A further sufficient condition may be found in well thought-out policies that are executed through education and dialogue. |
| Keyword | toleration; value pluralism; liberalism; cultural homogenization; globalization; common citizenship |
| Language | English |
| Part of collection | University of Southern California dissertations and theses |
| Publisher (of the original version) | University of Southern California |
| Place of publication (of the original version) | Los Angeles, California |
| Publisher (of the digital version) | University of Southern California. Libraries |
| Provenance | Electronically uploaded by the author |
| Type | texts |
| Legacy record ID | usctheses-m1658 |
| Contributing entity | University of Southern California |
| Rights | Sadagopan, Shoba |
| Repository name | Libraries, University of Southern California |
| Repository address | Los Angeles, California |
| Repository email | cisadmin@lib.usc.edu |
| Filename | etd-Sadagopan-2395 |
| Archival file | uscthesesreloadpub_Volume26/etd-Sadagopan-2395.pdf |
Description
| Title | Page 72 |
| Contributing entity | University of Southern California |
| Repository email | cisadmin@lib.usc.edu |
| Full text | 69 condition for toleration, but not a sufficient one. In Section III, I present what I consider a sufficient condition: the tendency towards homogenization that accompanies globalization. This homogenization translates from the economic to the cultural sphere. I argue that the strains of pluralism are eased with greater resemblance between individuals from different ethnocultural backgrounds. I ask whether the Internet does not constitute a global public sphere within which the discourse on toleration and pluralism can be extended. In the next chapter I discuss this question in detail. I. We do have a Nature At the outset I would like to make it clear that I use the term 'human nature' to describe what is in our nature as a species, what we all have in common, independent of culture or ethnicity. One of Bhiku Parekh's criticisms of liberalism, as I pointed out in Chapter 1, is that it equates a theory of human nature with a theory of human beings. He is not quite precise on this distinction, except to affirm that 'human nature' is culturally embedded and is not the same from culture to culture. I shall not quibble with the niceties of Parekh's distinction. I would merely like to point out that to deny that we do have a nature is to adopt what the English philosopher Mary Midgley has called the 'Blank Paper' view, that we have no instincts at all.4 I argue that we do have a nature. I take it as unproblematic that this nature is something we may share with other species. This does not alter the |
