Moral Intention (Based on Kant and Islam's View)

Sayyedeh Zahra Musavi∗ Abstract One of the moral issues which has received less attention from ethical schools is the issue of “intention”. This topic has been specially discussed by the ethical schools of Islam and Kant. Kant restricts the moral intention to decision to perform one’s own tasks and responsibilities. This view makes the scope of moral acts very limited and as his ethical theory is based on performing tasks as a moral act، his school fails to cause a strong motive in performing moralities. On the other hand، Islam considers the intention to approach God، which is a pervasive and comprehensive element، as the criterion for moral act while other motives like: assisting others، gaining perfection، fear of punishment and… are still included in that intention. Islam’s special view towards moral intention has made the scope of ethical acts so wide that various people with different backgrounds and motives can be regarded as moral agents. It is concluded that Islam’s definition of intention is general and comprehensive، a feature which stems from the principles and bases making up Islam ethical school.