Is Toleration an Outdated Virtue?

It is sometimes argued that toleration is an outdated or incoherent virtue. One reason for given for this is John Horton’s example of a tolerant racist (1). In this posting I will argue his example does not give us any reason why we should not treat toleration as a virtue. In order to make my argument I must make clear what is meant by toleration and outline what is meant by a tolerant racist.

To be tolerant means someone accepting something he believes is bad or wrong and which she has the power to change. Toleration then has three elements. An example of a tolerant racist might be someone who accepts everyone has equal employment rights whilst believing certain racial groups should not have these rights, perhaps because he believes members of these groups are lazy, and has the power to deny members of these groups these rights in some limited circumstances. Such a person could be regarded as a tolerant racist. According to Magali Bessone if we accept the standard definition of toleration, outlined above, then “the more strongly racist a person is, the more virtuous he appears to be” (2). In essence the above means the stronger someone’s racist belief that these groups should not possess these rights then provided he does not act on these beliefs the more tolerant he appears to be. I will now argue this appearance is false because the example of the tolerant racist conflates the moral worth of tolerance with the amount of effort it takes someone to be tolerant.

At this point I want to introduce another example which I will call the reluctant truth teller. Let us assume someone finds it hard to tell the truth. He likes to embellish stories and exaggerate his exploits. Nonetheless this person forces himself to be truthful. Let us compare the reluctant truth teller with someone who finds it natural to be truthful. If we accept the logic of the tolerant racist then it would appear that the reluctant truth teller is morally more virtuous than the person who finds truth telling natural. I could proceed to construct an example of a reluctant just man and this would lead to an identical appearance. In general I would argue accepting the tolerant racist argument means accepting that in general someone who reluctantly accepts some virtue is morally more virtuous than someone who finds being virtuous in the same way natural. I would further argue accepting the tolerant racist argument means accepting the value of someone’s moral virtue depends on the amount of effort he has to make to act virtuously for all the virtues.

Why does acting virtuously have moral value? Several reasons might be advanced. It might for instance help society flourish or it might be aimed at some concept of the good. Whatever gives acting virtuously its moral value it does not seem to directly depend on the amount of effort someone makes. Increased effort aimed at evil ends certainly does not diminish the evil intended. I of course accept that extra effort aimed at achieving some virtuous end may make achieving that end easier but I do not accept this extra effort adds moral value to this end. Accepting the latter means accepting that, a racist who continues to tolerate other races, when he has the power to do otherwise, does not become more tolerant if his racism increases.

At this point someone might point out to me that the above argument depends on toleration being seen as a moral virtue. I accept his point. My objector might now suggest that toleration is a personal virtue in much the same way as courage is. He might further suggest if we accept that toleration is a personal virtue that the problems caused by the tolerant racist resurface. I believe toleration is a moral virtue but I am willing to accept that toleration may also be a personal virtue. However I am unwilling to accept even if toleration is regarded as a personal virtue that a racist, who tolerates other races whilst he has the power not to do so, increases his toleration if his racist beliefs increase. Let us accept that a brave or tolerant person usually flourishes better than he would have done had he not possessed these personal virtues. Let us accept that in general the value of a personal virtue is that it helps its possessor flourish better in life. It follows the value of toleration depends only on how tolerant someone is and not on how much effort it took him to be tolerant. In order to see why the above must be true let us consider an example. Let us consider two tolerant people. Let us also assume it is possible to measure tolerance to some degree, if this is not so the ideas connected to the tolerant racist example make no sense. The first tolerant person is extremely tolerant and toleration comes extremely easily to him. The second is only minimally tolerant and it takes him a great effort to achieve this minimal tolerance. If we allow that effort plays some part in the degree of toleration then it might be possible that both these persons possess the same degree of toleration. However it seems inconceivable provided all other things are equal that the person with only minimal toleration will flourish equally as well as the extremely tolerant person. A racist with only minimal toleration of other races will, all other things being equal, not flourish as well as a more tolerant person.

I have argued that toleration is not an outdated or incoherent virtue. I have argued that toleration helps someone flourish. However toleration not only benefits the tolerant person it benefits those tolerated. Helping others to flourish by toleration might help to some small degree to combat fundamentalism and so benefit society.  

1. John Horton, 1996, Toleration as a virtue, in D Heyd (editor), toleration: an elusive virtue, Princeton University Press, pages 28-43.
2. Magali Bessone, 2013, Will the Real Tolerant Racist Please Stand Up, Journal of Applied Philosophy, 30(3).

Olympic Ideals and Winning

The Olympic Games are upon us and it is often claimed what really matters in the Olympics and sport in general is simply participating rather than actually winning. In this posting I want to differentiate between participating and competing and will defend the claim that winning is an essential element of any sport. My starting point for this posting will be the actions of Megan Vogel who when competing in a race in Ohio was running last but when about to pass Arden McMath, who had collapsed, stopped and helped her across the line; see Megan Vogel  . Megan’s action has rightly attracted much praise and many would suggest her action can be seen as demonstrating that what really matters in sport is taking part rather than winning.

I will begin by arguing Megan’s action was not part of sport. I do not intend to define sport precisely as I could offer several differing definitions. However prima facie it seems safe to assume any meaningful definition of sport must include the idea of competition and a set of rules. Some might question this assumption as it would rule out rock climbing and hunting as sports but might include chess. Megan’s action was certainly not competitive. Nor did her action have anything to do with the rules of athletics and as a result I would suggest had nothing to do with sport. Someone might object that even if her actions did not directly involve sport they did involve the ethos of sport, or sportsmanship. Once again as with sport I do not want to offer a precise definition of sportsmanship. I will however assume any definition must include the ideas of fairness, respect for other competitors and a degree of graciousness in accepting the result of any contest. Megan’s actions appear to have little to do with any of these assumptions. Helping Arden had nothing to do with fairness, respect for fellow competitors or graciousness in accepting the result of the race. My objector might now suggest Megan’s action demonstrated respect for Arden. I would counter suggest Megan’s action had very little to do with respect for Arden, though of course she may well have respected her, but instead demonstrated empathy. Empathy is not a necessary part of either sport or sportsmanship. I would further suggest Megan’s action demonstrated there are some things more important than sport or sportsmanship.

I have assumed that the concept of sport must include the idea of competition and a set of rules. The idea of competition is a meaningless one without the idea of winning. If someone objects I would ask her to think of any sort of competition without a winner or winners. My objector might now suggest even if sports must involve competition not all sportsmen or women are competitors. She might point to mass marathons such as those of London or New York in which the majority of participants stand no chance of winning to support her suggestion. She might then proceed to further point out these participants don’t even have intention of competing with the elite athletes. I will agree with my objector that these participants are taking part in a sporting event but I will argue many are still competing rather than just taking part in some mass ramble attached to a sporting event. Of course these participants are not competing with the elite athletes but they are seeking to achieve some goal. This goal may be a personal best, beating a friend or perhaps simply finishing the course. Achieving these goals means competing with the clock or a personal friend. However can achieving some purely personal goal such as simply finishing a marathon course be seen as some form of competition? I suppose I could make some contrived attempt to argue that achieving a personal gaol can be seen as a competition with some elements within the inner self. I will not make such an attempt and accept that achieving some personal athletic goal is not a form of competition. My objector might now argue that because all participants in a marathon are sportsmen or women and some of those are not taking part in any meaningful competition that competition is not an essential element of sport. I don’t accept my objectors premise that all participants in a large scale marathon are sportsmen or women. I would suggest there is a difference between being simply a participant and a competitor. Not all participants are competitors. It follows the concept of a sportsman or woman is not an all or nothing concept but rather a graduated one. I would further suggest that the degree to which someone should be considered a sportsman or woman depends on the amount of genuine competition involved. It follows that this objection to my prima facie assumption that sport must include the idea of competition and winning is unsound.

I have argued that competition and winning are an essential element of sport and those who merely participate in a sporting event such as a mass marathon are not really sportsmen or women. It follows what is important to being involved with sport is competing rather than merely participating and competition involves winners. Merely taking part, participating in a sporting event is not what really matters indeed it is irrelevant as far as sport is concerned.

One reason why the idea that participating in a sporting event may seem to be as important as competing in the event is that many of the virtues needed by someone to compete in an event such as a marathon race are the same as those needed by someone merely to complete the event. In order to compete or participate in a marathon someone needs to be dedicated, determined, have a little practical wisdom and a degree of temperance. This is a limited set of virtues. If someone is to have a sense of sportsmanship she needs to augment this set by adding a sense of fairness and respect for others. This set is a slightly larger set of virtues but still remains a limited set. Earl Spurgin argues we should not expect sports stars to be role models as this invades their right to privacy (1). The above suggests a further reason; the virtues needed by sports stars are a limited set and the set of virtues possessed by role models should be larger including humanity based on empathy or sympathy such as that exhibited by Megan Vogel.

1. Earl Spurgin 2012 Hey, How did I become a Role Model? Privacy and the Extent of Role Model-Obligations. Journal of Applied Philosophy, 29(2)