Emphasis on a division of people into ideological categories of "us" and "them" may be condemned as tribalistic, unhelpful, and misguided, but these categories are an inescapable part of human existence as long as there are people who hold to conflicting philosophical ideas, whether those ideas are about epistemology, metaphysics, or morality. Even if every person alive was in complete ideological agreement, there would always be the potential for someone to deviate from the group and form a new one, thus reviving other factions.
To even condemn or oppose advocates of an "us against them" mindset, a person must ironically have a mindset that separates people into ideological or moral groups! Moreover, no one can uphold an ideology that treats everyone as ideological equals and allies without making their ideology's societal power weak, as they cannot criticize their opponents without dividing people into the categories of "us" and "them." There is no such thing as an ideology that promotes truly consistent abolition of "us" and "them" categories unless it does not allow for its adherents to enforce its ideas without hypocrisy.
Furthermore, if truth has value, then the people in separate philosophical and moral factions are by no means of equal value, for they would not all be equally close to the truth, and concern for things of importance makes one more valuable by merely choosing the proximity. If truth has no value, there is no obligation to be tolerant of other factions to begin with. Regardless of what obligations may or may not exist, therefore, those who seek to treat others as if their worldviews and actions cannot render some people closer to reality than others are adrift in delusion.
The flaws of tolerance aside, reason divides people into ideological categories by default (the only exception would be a hypothetical state of total agreement among all people, regardless of the truth of what they agree on). Some people are intelligent, and far more are devoid of any serious intelligence. Some people have sound worldviews, and many more do not, thanks to intellectual laziness or incompetence. Every individual falls into one of the latter categories, even if they want nothing more than to pretend like all people are ideologically and morally equal.
Furthermore, if truth has value, then the people in separate philosophical and moral factions are by no means of equal value, for they would not all be equally close to the truth, and concern for things of importance makes one more valuable by merely choosing the proximity. If truth has no value, there is no obligation to be tolerant of other factions to begin with. Regardless of what obligations may or may not exist, therefore, those who seek to treat others as if their worldviews and actions cannot render some people closer to reality than others are adrift in delusion.
The flaws of tolerance aside, reason divides people into ideological categories by default (the only exception would be a hypothetical state of total agreement among all people, regardless of the truth of what they agree on). Some people are intelligent, and far more are devoid of any serious intelligence. Some people have sound worldviews, and many more do not, thanks to intellectual laziness or incompetence. Every individual falls into one of the latter categories, even if they want nothing more than to pretend like all people are ideologically and morally equal.
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