نشریه معرفت اخلاقی
پیاپی 11 (تابستان 1391)

Moral epistemology is one of the most important subjects of meta-ethics. The idea of the role of intellect in identifying moral values is of special important. This issue which has a long history led Muslim thinkers to follow different schools and sects. Twelve Shiʻa and Mutazila support the idea that intellect is able to identify moral values, while Asharites do not consider intellect as means of moral knowledge and believe that Islamic law is the only means of realizing morality. Each of these two groups provides proofs to support its own view and to refute the view of the other side. The present paper sheds light on the most important proofs provided by the defenders of the ability of intellect to identify moral values and concludes that though some of the proofs offered by the proponents of this view come under criticisms they give some convincing and irrefutable evidence.

One of the issues with which anthropology is concerned is man's happiness. In Islam, which happiness means nearness to God is one of the central questions in Islam. This nearness can be studied from different aspects, such as the reality of nearness to God, the means to attain nearness to God, its effect on man’s life in this world and the other world and the characteristics of those brought nigh etc. One of the important questions raised in this regard is: what is the position those brought nigh, that is, to what position or station do they have? The Holy Quran and tradition uses various expressions to explain the position of those brought nigh, which constitute the structure of present paper.

When the question of self-control is raised, many people think of self refinement, mystical journey and its concomitant difficulties. They consider self-control as a very difficult task which needs a spiritual master or guide, and it is beyond the ability of ordinary people. The present paper tries to explain the concept, significance and ways of self-control through controlling the mind, heart and limbs and organs. Using a new approach to address this question, the researcher believes that self-control can be realized and attained by means of controlling the mind, heart and limbs and organs in spite of the concomitant difficulty. It is possible to attain self-control if it is looked from this angle, although it seems necessary to refer to a spiritual guiding master to achieve a high level of self-control.

Imam Khomeini has come up with valuable mystical, moral, theological, educational, philosophical and legal ideas and guidelines. He has set overall aims and a specific policy for education. Imam defines Islam as the best educational school and considers prayer as the pillar of religion and "the head of Islam", relying on Islamic thought. Furthermore, he believes that prayer has a particular status and he considers it as a sacred composition" and "comprehensive prescription" for man. The present paper re-examines the educational significance of prayer in Imam Khomeini's view in the light of his book "Serr Al Salat (the mystery of prayer). A descriptive method and content analysis is used in this research. The main educational proofs based on inquiry and speculation in this research are organized and presented in a framework of foundations, principles and methods of Islamic education. The research findings show that Imam Khomeini considers prayer to have several forms of the different aspects of educational process (foundations, principles, aims and method), which can actualize and crystallize the journey along the right path, the various steps of the four journeys of mysticism, and states of wayfarer in every rakat of his/her prayer.

Each member of family, which represents a small society, has to observe his/her duties. A wife and husband (spouses), who represent the main pillars of family, have more important duties, and their commitment to these duties has a key role in the marital relations and in their relations with the other members of the family. Sociability and observing chastity are considered as the most important moral duties. Religious and educational teachings give special attention to these two duties which have an important role in the welfare of family. Using an analyticaldescriptive approach, the present paper deals with the moral duties of spouses, concentrating on sociability and chastity. It seeks to study these two fundamental duties from a religious, an educational, and a psychological perspective.

Observing the morals of profession by the staff of an organization or company leads to promotion of its status in as far as the quality and outcome are concerned. A study of the factors influencing observance of morality in a society or organization helps to promote and enhance moralities. Using a descriptive-survey method, the present paper aims at assessing the relationship between management of information security and observing the morals of profession. In addition to studying the concepts of information security and morals of profession in an organization, the present paper elaborates on their dimensions. Then it analyzes the relationship between their components. The statistical universe includes the managers and staff of the companies working in the field of information technology which have been ranked by high council of informatics. Pearson correlation coefficient and Z- test have been used to examine research hypotheses. The most important research finding shows that there is a positive and significant relationship between ensuring information security and observing morals of profession in an organization.

The human sciences can be divided into two types: descriptive and prescriptive. Descriptive human sciences are those sciences which explain and describe human phenomena. On the contrary, prescriptive human sciences are those sciences which provide a set of prescriptive propositions- ought tos and ought not tos-, consistent with the already affirmed already principles, for the sake of achieving the desired aims. There has been a long running dispute among human scientists as to accept or reject prescriptive human sciences, so that a group considers them as science whereas another group do not. Adopting certain methods in the human sciences and thinking that there is no logical relationship between reality and value contribute to excluding prescriptive sciences. Accordingly, criticizing these two factors renders prescriptive human sciences acceptable. Having examined the quiddity and characteristics of prescriptive human sciences, the present paper goes through and criticizes the proofs provided by the opponents of prescriptive human sciences.