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Abstract
This paper has two purposes. On one hand, to analyze tolerance as a public virtue in an open and democratic society. This requires asking about its justification, its function in today’s societies and its limits. There is a distinction between two types of tolerance: negative tolerance, which would be equivalent to putting up with thoughts, opinions or behaviors with which one disagrees, even radically rejecting them, and positive tolerance, which, based on disagreement, would try to understand the opposing positions, putting oneself in the place of the other. On the other hand, to study the contribution to the idea of tolerance that we can find in some of the novels of Benito Perez Galdos published at the end of the seventies of the 19th century. Galdos is a brilliant observer of the society of his time and an inexhaustible creator of characters. His literature has, in addition, an evident pedagogical vocation that can be completed with his commitment in the Spanish politics of the time when he considered it appropriate. The thesis of this work is that, frequently, the literary imagination creates the social morality and the vision and valuation of human conduct that later is the object of reflection by philosophers and regulation by legislators. In other words, by describing situations of intolerance in his literary characters, Galdos is forcing us to think about the benefits of tolerance and the detriments of intolerance. As an example of the practice of positive tolerance, the interesting and rewarding friendship between the traditionalist Jose Maria Pereda, the conservative Marcelino Menendez Pelayo and the liberal Benito Perez Galdos is pointed out.
El trabajo pretende dos objetivos: A) Analizar la tolerancia como virtud publica en una sociedad abierta y democratica. Esto hace necesario preguntarse por su justificacion, su funcion en las sociedades actuales y sus limites. Tambien se hace la distincion entre dos tipos de tolerancia: la tolerancia negativa, que equivaldria a soportar pensamientos, opiniones o conductas con las que se esta en desacuerdo, incluso que se rechazan de manera radical, y la tolerancia positiva, que a partir del desacuerdo intentaria comprender las posturas contrarias, poniendose en lugar del otro. B) Estudiar la aportacion a la idea de tolerancia que podemos encontrar en algunas de las novelas de Benito Perez Galdos publicadas a finales de los anos setenta del siglo XIX. Galdos es un observador genial de la sociedad de su tiempo y un creador inagotable de personajes. Su literatura tiene, ademas, una vocacion pedagogica evidente que puede completarse con su compromiso en la politica activa espanola de la epoca cuando lo considero oportuno. La tesis que se quiere mantener en el trabajo es que, con frecuencia, la imaginacion literaria crea la moral social y la vision y valoracion de la conducta humana que mas tarde es objeto de reflexion por los filosofos y de regulacion por parte de los legisladores. Es decir, Galdos al describir situaciones de intolerancia en sus personajes literarios nos esta obligando a pensar sobre los beneficios de la tolerancia y los perjuicios de la intolerancia. Como ejemplo de la practica de la tolerancia positiva se senala la interesante y enriquecedora amistad entre el tradicionalista Jose Maria Pereda, el conservador Marcelino Menendez Pelayo y el liberal Benito Perez Galdos.