EL CONCEPTO DE TOLERANCIA, DE TOMAS MORO A VOLTAIRE

Abstract

My propose is to research into the historical roots of the tolerance idea, indispensable for the democracy (Fetscher). This paper shows that at the time of Th. More, in the context of the Reform and religion wars, we can to observe two meaning of tolerance idea: i) the tolerance as a necessary bad es defended by who long for the Christendom, as Erasmus; the tolerance as respect of the other belief es defended by the «radical Reform». Locke adds a characteristic note: he replaces the orthodoxy criterion by the tolerance principle. In this way he sets up the possibility of a plural society as point of view religious (Letter) as political (Toleration Act), even though with the exceptions. Voltaire defends the universal toleration in the Traité sur la tolérance, and he reinforce in this way the argument that it is must to lead to the recognition of the political, social and religious pluralism.