Autonomy, tolerance and civilization

Abstract

: In this paper I analyse Samuel P. Huntington’s and Tzvetan Todorov’s opposed opinions on the so called ‘clash of civilisations’. I defend Todorov’s views, but my I aim here is to level two pieces of criticism at his position. Firstly, I claim that the distinction between «civilization» and «culture» ought to be preserved, since each concept belongs to a different category, and both of them are valuable from an explanatory point of view. Secondly, I question that the model of coexistence defended by Todorov —which is based on the respect for autonomy and tolerance— is so neutral as he believes, and so susceptible to be universalised. On the contrary, I claim that it is necessarily fulfilled in a very specific and controversial conception of human identity, whose main traits I describe here