A Study of the Views of Three Muslim Philosophers on the Four-Fold Virtues: Ibn Miskawayh, Khwājah Naṣīr al-Dīn Ṭūsī, and Ḥakīm J‘afar Kashfī

Ibn Miskawayh, Khwājah Naṣīr al-Dīn Ṭūsī, and Ḥakīm J‘afar Kashfī share relatively similar views on the soul and believe in Aristotle’s middle term. Moreover, all of them consider the four-fold virtues of wisdom, bravery, piety, and justice to be the most original moral virtues; however, they also have some disagreements with each other. This paper, while trying to accurately explain the similarities between them, aims to carefully investigate the differences among them regarding the mentioned virtues. Accordingly, after dividing the virtues into primary and secondary ones, the authors analyze and compare the lists and definitions of secondary virtues in the view of each of these philosophers with those of others. The findings of this study demonstrate that the greatest similarities between the views of Ibn Miskawayh, Khwājah Naṣīr al-Dīn Ṭūsī, and Ḥakīm J‘afar Kashfī pertain to the virtue of wisdom and its related virtues. However, there are some relatively noteworthy differences among them regarding bravery, piety, and justice. For example, regarding piety, there is some disagreement between the views of Ibn Miskawayh and Ṭūsī; nevertheless, Ḥakīm Kashfī provides a different list of secondary virtues in comparison to the other two philosophers and oftentimes discusses piety in unity with economic and sexual self-discipline. The list and definitions of secondary virtues in relation to justice are completely similar to each other in the views of Khwājah Naṣīr al-Dīn Ṭūsī and Kashfī; however, Ibn Miskawayh’s list of justice-related secondary virtues contains 13 items more than those of the other two philosophers.