Tolerance and freedom of expression

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Contributor(s): Professor Peter Godfrey-Smith | Join us for the Sir Karl Popper Memorial Lecture which will be delivered by Peter Godfrey-Smith who will speak about tolerance and the freedom of expression. Karl Popper suggested that tolerance in political contexts can be self-defeating. “Unlimited tolerance must lead to the disappearance of tolerance,” he said, because it allows intolerance to flourish and take over. He called this the “paradox of tolerance.” One important kind of tolerance relates to the expression of controversial ideas. Using a framework for understanding tolerance developed with Ben Kerr, Peter Godfrey-Smith will discuss problems raised by toleration of the intolerant, especially around questions of speech and expression. The framework itself doesn't dictate policies, but combined with other arguments it can provide support for a "classic liberal" treatment of free expression, where some protection is afforded to the expression of unpopular views. The framework eliminates the appearance of tension or "paradox" in some liberal combinations of attitudes.