Marcelo Andrade

What possible relations are there between the concept of tolerance and the field of education? Would tolerance be a pertinent value or a valid attitude to provide a foundation for a socio-educational proposal? Facing the distrust that the concept of tolerance creates, this paper discusses the importance of this “value-attitude” over against intransigent social practices. It starts from the insight that the concept of tolerance has a historical consolidation in different philosophical currents. The historical consolidation gives the concept not only an apparent or formal legitimacy, but also a guideline to reflect on its value, relevance and possible appliance in the field of education. Taking into consideration the historical development of the concept of tolerance and affirming its axiological adequacy to our present, this article presents two possibilities of understanding: (1) the conceptual and historical relations between tolerance, equality, freedom and difference, and (2) the possibilities of an ethicalphilosophical foundation for an education for tolerance. The first possibility is more speculative and the second one tries to be more propositional. Key words: tolerance, education, difference, education for tolerance.

Resumo: O artigo aponta para uma educação que atente para a diversidade cultural nas sociedades contemporâneas. Trata-se de um ensaio teórico motivado pela constatação da existência de relações conflitivas no cotidiano escolar, causadas, em geral, pela falta de reconhecimento e respeito às diferenças identitárias. Para fundamentar uma educação moral para a diversidade, buscou-se aprofundar o diálogo entre a ética do discurso de Jürgen Habermas e a psicologia do desenvolvimento de Lawrence Kohlberg. A fim de superar alguns limites universalistas de Habermas e Kohlberg para o enfrentamento de problemas relativos às diferenças, suas abordagens foram cotejadas, respectivamente, com as críticas de Charles Taylor e Carol Gilligan. A partir dessa fundamentação teórica, o artigo assinala a importância de práticas pedagógicas que possibilitem que as diversas culturas se expressem e sejam reconhecidas como manifestações legítimas das diferentes identidades que configuram uma sociedade plural. Palavras-chave: Habermas; Kohlberg; Educação moral; Diversidade. Abstract: The article focuses on education that is attentive to the cultural diversity in contemporary society. It constitutes a theoretical essay motivated by the observation of the existence of conflictive relations in the school quotidian, caused, in general, by lack of recognition and respect for identity differences. In order to form a foundation for a moral education for diversity, it was sought to deepen the dialogue between the discourse ethics of Jürgen Habermas and developmental psychology of Lawrence Kohlberg. With the aim of overcoming some universalist limits of Habermas and Kohlberg in facing problems regarding differences, their approaches were collated, respectively, with the criticisms of Charles Taylor and Carol Gilligan. On the basis of this theoretical foundation, the article stresses the importance of pedagogic practices that enable diverse cultures to be expressed and recognised as legitimate manifestations of different identities, configured in a plural society. Keywords: Habermas; Kohlberg; Moral education; Diversity. Data de registro: 23/06/2012 Data de aceite: 19/02/2014