Abstract

The aim of this paper is to present the concept and the different conceptions of toleration developed in modernity, examining the question of the limits of toleration. It is to be the argument that the concept of toleration, to attain some configuration and content, is normatively dependent on the idea of ​​democracy: the delimitation of toleration requires the specification of a principle of political legitimacy based on public deliberation and justification according to which the standards, practices and institutions that organize the common life may be justifiable in the light of good reasons acceptable to all citizens. The central ideia of the article is that the delimitation of toleration is not a theoretical-moral task, but a practical-political task to be carried on by the citizens through democratic procedures of public deliberation.

Keywords: Limits of toleration, political legitimacy, public justification.