نشریه اخلاق پژوهی
پیاپی 9 (زمستان 1399)

Moral values are among the most significant elements that constitute social improvement; but since our moral literature often has taken an individualist attitude, it would be necessary to reconsider the Islamic moral works in light of society and civilization . Criticizing in detail and denying Max Weber’s claim that politics and ethics are separable, the author acknowledges that moral foundations, principles, and teachings concerning the individual and social spheres may be organized in a single ethical system . The author also maintains that the social sphere of ethics has special requirements and demands which cannot be seen from a personal perspective and call for a more general social outlook . Thus this essay seeks to compare and contrast social ethics with individual ethics in terms of subject matter, end, source, and the type of obligation, and thereby makes clear the requisite for reconsidering the Islamic moral teachings in light of social understanding and its consequences .

The vast majority of issues on justice discussed in morality by early Muslim philosophers are derived from the views of Plato and Aristotle . Those Muslim philosophers not only promoted Plato’s psychological model and Aristotle’s theory of moderation among Muslims by providing their own explanations as to justice, but also made some effort to regard the Quranic concepts as equivalent to Plato’s and Aristotle’s thoughts, and to impose their ideas on the Quran . “Justice” in Arabic language and Islamic culture means “to give someone his due,” “to put everything in its own place,” “equality,” and “moderation .” In spite of the fact that he points out these different senses, Allameh Tabataba'i includes a combination of Plato’s and Aristotle’s beliefs in Tafsir al-Mizan because he has been influenced by Muslim philosophers whom he calls scholars of morals . Since “moderation” better fits in Plato’s and Aristotle’s thoughts than the other above-mentioned senses, he took it to be the best meaning for the interpretation of “justice .” Therefore, his providing an exegesis of certain verses in which “justice” is used is affected by this presupposition . Moreover, in contrast to the psychological model adopted by philosophers, he did not satisfactorily characterize his psychological model of the Quran .

Law and morality and their relations involve classical but dynamic themes which have been always seriously debated and disputed in philosophy of law . Although a large number of these debates seem to be contradictory, the contradiction between them nonetheless has its origin in conceptual confusion . Thus this study aims to draw a functional distinction between law and morality without being concerned with theoretical controversies . This has at least two advantages: first, theoretical discussions would come under conceptual strict scrutiny, and second, one can avoid the fallacy of the level of analysis . The legal and the moral are distinguishable in this article by means of conceptual analysis which makes use of four opposite pairs: value versus obligation, institution versus person, persuasion and compulsion, and finally autonomy versus heteronomy .

Even if Kierkegaard in his thoughts accords a special status to ethics as one of the spheres of life, this does not mean that ethics plays no role in the aesthetic and religious stages . Since ethics manifests itself in them, it is insufficient to offer just one single interpretation of the ethical – which appears to take the form of morality based on the universal – in order to understand comprehensively the ethical in Kierkegaard’s thought . Thus it is appropriate to explore the ethical in a broad range of his works so as to highlight its neglected aspects which are not necessarily compatible with the common account of the ethical as the universal . Explicating these different aspects, this article seeks to provide a more inclusive account of the ethical in other spheres of life than the common account . To do so, it examines the roles and functions of the ethical in three spheres of aesthetics, ethics, and religion separately, and explains their similarities and dissimilarities .

When world community and also Iran are encountered with coronavirus crisis and home quarantine enforcement going together with the closure of schools, universities, works, and so forth, family as an underlying social institution plays a decisive role in protecting its members, in educating children, in treating patients, and more generally in helping people and society to pass through this crisis . It is moral strategies that definitely maintain family solidarity and mainly create social cohesion particularly in the current disaster . This article primarily aims to recognize these strategies in the Islamic approach and in the objective relations of Iranian families . Examining the Islamic moral strategies in family ties on the basis of Islamic beliefs concerning goodness and badness, character traits and actions in financial, emotional, sexual, and educational terms, this study infers the rights and wrongs of Islamic morality from which families can benefit in the current difficult conditions . Then relying on a remote interview with some cases and the analysis of its salient contents, it explains and analyzes moral problems and strategies that Iranian families need to know for dealing with the coronavirus crisis . According to the findings, the greatest difficulties and concerns experienced by families during the quarantine period originate from the fields of health, education, economics, and leisure . It has been observed that the convergence of the strategies tolerantly employed by families such as strategies for safety and pleasure is considerable .

The civilization and culture of every society are marked by art and architecture . Architects benefit from a particular moral system in their teaching, designing, and implementing . Part of moral teachings and professional etiquette is reflected in writings and codes of ethics pertaining to relevant guilds . This article raises the question of what are the professional moral rules of architects in the Chivalrous Code of Ethics for Builders . Therefore it will describe and analyze the contents of this document so as to infer and expound the professional ethics of architects . It accordingly seeks to make the claim that the heritage, etiquette, and codes of ethics regarding professions and careers (including the Chivalrous Code of Ethics for Builders) involve a sort of professional ethics that represents Islamic Iranian characteristics . In analyzing the Chivalrous Code of Ethics for Builders, one can recognize the following foundations and principles: believing in monotheism and following the patterns of divine leaders, using verses and traditions as primary sources, practicing certain moral virtues, specialism, complimentary course of instruction, skills in managing projects and human resources, being acquainted with senior figures, and showing courtesy as an apprentice . The conclusion is that the Chivalrous Code of Ethics for Builders characterizes a type of professional ethics which is founded upon Iranian-Islamic doctrinal, moral, and spiritual principles .