نشریه اخلاق وحیانی
سال چهارم شماره 1 (پیاپی 6، بهار و تابستان 1393)

Social life is a necessity for mankind and his felicity depends on his manner of social coexistence, thus, one cannot be indifferent about the manner in which to coexist with others and to live with others in just any way. Yet, the question is raised here that what is the best way in which the felicity of the majority of mankind is achieved, and what is the most important characteristic that would guarantee a felicitous coexistence of human beings? The method that is presented to mankind by the Quran is a moral coexistence. The Quran calls the people to observe the ethical values in their coexistence so that it would lead to the training of the members of the society and the synergy of moral virtues. In this method of coexistence, the peacefulness of the social interactions is not the most important point; rather, the most important principle here is the moral excellence of the members of the society. The most important factor for training and the establishment of moral values is affection, for affection creates a sense of sympathy among the members of the society and molds the society into a single body. What is meant here by affection is the kind of sentiment that would decrease social vices and would increase virtues and it is a kind of affection that is called the “affection in the cause of Allah” and the “affection for Allah”. In other words, it is a benevolent affection which originates from man’s affection for the absolute goodness, i.e. Allah Almighty. Moreover, since the purpose of such affection is to pave the way for moral training, it takes various forms to fit various circumstances and different social groups; thus, it sometimes takes the form of adherence and approval, and other times, it realizes in the form of disapproval, just as the affection of a doctor causes him to disapprove of and hate the sickness in the body of his patients. Based on the teachings of the Quran, the affection of the Prophet of Islam (may Allah bless him and his descendants) for the people, the affection of the believers for each other, and even the affection of the believers for unbelievers and enemies in different forms, all lead to the synergy of moral virtues. Similarly, the disapproval and enmity of the believers towards those unbelievers who insist on their enmity with the believers is also a manifestation of Divine Mercy which causes them to exit the authority of Satan and accept the authority of Allah Almighty. The prosperity of affection in coexistence is achieved through gentleness and tenderness of social behavior, being benevolent to the public, patience in the face of adversities and trusting Allah’s power and might.

The theory of ayatollah Mesbah must be presented through the two issues of “the analysis of ethical deeds” and “the analysis of ethical statements”. With regard to the first issue, ayatollah Mesbah believes that the main and axial drive in human beings is “self-love” and that the goal that provides one’s “self” with its interests, more than anything else, is more loved and favored by him and such a goal is named the “ultimate perfection” whose extension is “nearness to Allah”. Therefore, the prerequisites that can pave the way for this “nearness” are the worthy and ethical deeds, and those which hinder the achievement of this “nearness” are the immoral deeds. What ayatollah Mesbah means by “prerequisites” is the necessary relationship between the ethical deed and the ultimate perfection. With regard to the second issue (i.e. the analysis of the ethical statements) he considers the issue of “ethical statements” as one of the secondary philosophical concepts, which is inferred from the causal relationships between the “voluntary action” and its result. The second part of the present paper is devoted to the examination of this theory in comparison with the concept of “Unity”.Here, the questions “can one analyze the issues of worshipping and devotion as being the result of “self-love” based on this theory?” and “can varying levels of self-love justify “obeying and disobeying” Allah?” are raised. The study of these two questions is the pursuit of the second part of this paper.

Realizing the manner in which concepts are formed, transformed and transferred to other cultures and civilizations is a great undertaking in understanding notions. The present paper seeks to study the book “Tahdhib Al Akhlaaq” so as to provide a report, through a hermeneutic (analytic) approach, with regard to the manner in which the Greek ethical concepts have been transferred and transformed into the Islamic culture and ideology. The question that is raised is that “considering the hermeneutic method, how is it possible to understand the ethical concepts as explained by bin Maskawayh?” Tahdhib Al Akhlaaq is a book which contains ethical concepts and the foundations of this concept in its lexical-linguistic system. The type of language used in Tahdhib Al Akhlaaq can be found in Aristotle’s Nicomachean Ethics which can be considered an intertextual characteristic of bin Maskawayh’s writing. The philosophical-ethical principles used by bin Maskawayh in the book “Tahdhib Al Akhlaaq” and the ones employed by Aristotle in his books are not the same. Concepts such as Polis (city-state), Phronesis (deed), Rhetoric (eloquence), Praxis (action), Dike (justice) are key concepts for the explanation of the principles of Aristotle’s moral philosophy.This is while issues such as virtue, felicity, wisdom, and civilization are the prominent concepts in bin Maskawayh’s ethical system. Though the Greek terminologies for these concepts have not been utilized by bin Maskawayh, he has presented the translation and conception of these concepts on which he has founded the foundations of philosophical ethics. The present paper is an attempt to understand the developments of ethical concepts in the area of Islamic ideology, in order to show the “possibility of the formation of the philosophical science of ethics” in the middle ages of Islam.

The study of the relationship between intellect and ethics is one of the unavoidable philosophical discussions regarding ethics. Moreover, Farabi is also considered to be one of the most influential Muslim philosophers in the field of ethics. The present paper seeks to answer the question “what is the role and significance of intellect with regard to ethics?” To this end, first, Farabi’s perspective on the theory of intellect will be discussed. Farabi’s theory of intellect is based on the connection of human intellect with the immaterial world which is mediated by the agent intellect. Next, the concept of ethics as well as the goal of ethics, which is felicity, from Farabi’s viewpoint will be discussed and, finally, the role and significance of intellect concerning the achievement of felicity will be discussed in detail from different perspectives. It is noteworthy that, in Farabi’s school of thought, felicity is not a simple and primitive concept; rather, it is a compound concept, for the discerning of which, its relationship with other concepts such as willpower, freewill, pleasure, knowledge, instruction and correction must be clarified. Thus, following the presentation of the definition of the concept of intellect and its different kinds from Farabi’s point of view, the manner in which it will emerge and influence each of the aforementioned concepts will be specified. It will be discussed that, contrary to some of the philosophers of ethics, Farabi has considered a very significant role for intellect in ethics and he has depicted this issue through various ways and different concepts.

The Christian ethical theology has undergone numerous transformations. The New Testament is considered to be the main origin of Christian ethics. The central theme of Jesus’s teachings was the kingdom of God and the transformation which was considered to be the prerequisite for being granted entrance into God’s kingdom. The ethics, as taught by Paul the Apostle, was based on virtues and it emphasized the internalization of ethical principles rather than the external moral orders and prohibitions. The ethical teachings of the Apostolic Fathers were mostly of preaching, pastoral, defensive, and instructive nature. For almost one thousand years there was no coherent and systematic science of ethics. Even Augustine, who greatly influenced the thoughts of the church by theorizing the concept of perpetual blessing, was not able to present a coherent ethical theology. Later, Thomas Aquinas presented the most systematic and detailed account of moral virtues and vices with a philosophical approach. However, ethical theology was still considered to be a part of theology, until after the Trent council and, particularly, by the influence of Alfonse Ligouri, the ethical theology was separated from doctrinal theology. When the “infallibility of the Pope” was approbated in the first council of the Vatican, the doctrinal authority of the church started interfering in the explanation of the ethical issues. In the contemporary era, and due to the advances in industry and medicine, new topics have arisen in the area of Catholic ethics.

The essence of Buddhist teachings is based on the law of nature (Dharma) or ethical order, and Dharma is, then, linked with the laws governing the ethical practices (i.e. Karma). These two concepts, along with a number of other concepts, construct the foundations of Buddhist ethics. These concepts are equally utilized in all sects of Buddhism, yet, in different sects, different amount of emphasis is put on each of them. Meanwhile, the western Buddhists have also attempted to explain these Buddhist ethical concepts within the framework of western models.

Very much like other mystical practices in India, the Pantanjali Yoga mysticism has also made use of Indian ethics and religion as well as the ethical laws of Mano in its primary stages of mystical journey.There are eight stages of mystical journey in the yoga tradition, in which, the first two stages concern ethical conduct and the Indian worships and religion practices which are done in order to achieve mystic meditation and yogic liberation. Each of these two stages consists of five moral and religious laws. Ahimsa (meaning “not to injure”), which is one of the principles shared by all Indian religions and philosophical schools of thought, is considered to be the axis of ethics, and a person, who has become perfect in Ahimsa, is considered to have perfected in ethics and such a person is, then, authorized to go to the next stages of mystical journey which are beyond ethics and objective issues. This paper seeks to examine the yogic and Indian ethics with a focus on the first two stages of the eight-stage yogic mystical journey.