A comparative study of the goals and methods of moral education from the perspective of Imam Reza and Aristotle

Moral education is one of the topics that great thinkers and philosophers have paid attention to throughout history. Attention to this principle can be seen in the teachings and traditions of the Ahl al-Bayt (AS). The pure Imams (AS) during their lifetime, have considered moral education as one of the goals and explained logical and precise topics about it. The present study uses descriptive-analytical and comparative methods to express the goals and methods of moral education from the perspective of Imam Reza (AS) and in order to show the superiority of the words and teachings of this great Imam over other words and teachings, this subject is compared and analyzed in a comparative way with the discussion of moral education from the perspective of Aristotle.Findings from the research show that the purpose of moral education from the perspective of Imam Reza (AS) is to ensure worldly and otherworldly happiness. Imam (AS) measures the combination of wisdom and emotion as a method of moral education and considers it as a factor in achieving moderation. He makes moral education conditional on value foundations without which the goal cannot be achieved. But Aristotle equated moral education with the training of personality, which can be achieved by methods such as threatening, encouraging, persuading and showing courtesy, in order to ensure worldly happiness, so what Aristotle considers as the method, Imam (AS) considers as the tool.