The Status of Moral Philosophy in the Islamic Seminary in the Last Century

Since the beginning of theological disputes, philosophical reflections on ethics and morality were found among scholars of kalām. One might say that the first serious discussion on the matter was the well-known controversy between Ashʿarite and Muʿtazilite theologians over the goodness (ḥusn) and badness (qubḥ) of actions. Ashʿarite theologians believed that goodness and badness were God-dependent, while Muʿtazilite and Imami theologians believed that they were God- independent. Moreover, philosophical contemplation of morality can be found in the works of Muslim ethicists, and a formulation of Aristotle’s virtue ethics often appears in some ethical works. In the last century, philosophical consideration of morality remarkably flourished in the West, such that a whole field is devoted to it under moral philosophy. Since one hundred years have passed since the established of the Seminary of Qom, now the question arises of the status of moral philosophy in the Islamic Seminary in the last century and its future directions. To examine such a significant issue, we should study two historical periods: before and after the victory of the Islamic Revolution in Iran, since there is a considerable difference here. In this article, I aim to analyze and examine the status of moral philosophy in the Islamic Seminary in the last century. I conclude that, before the victory of the Islamic Revolution, moral philosophy was not commonly addressed, the only exception being Ayatollah Motahhari, while after the victory of the Islamic Revolution, moral philosophy was developed in diverse fields such as meta-ethics, theoretical normative ethics, and applied ethics.