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The term ethology comes from a Greek background, which means moral
duty and the science of moral duty or values or principles.
Ethics which examines the analysis of employment of concepts such as
good, evil, right, wrong duties and responsibilities, as a major branch of
philosophy is divided into three parts or areas: metaethics, normative ethics
and applied or practical ethics.
An attempt to arrive at a general standard that tells us how to judge right
from wrong, good from bad and how to have a moral life.
To explore the practical philosophy, two types of theories or reasons should
be discussed here; one type is theoretical reason and the second one is
practical reason. As they are also called theoretical wisdom and practical
wisdom.
Aristotle divides wisdom or reason into two types: speculative reason,
practical reason or wisdom.
It is related to speculative sciences such as theology, first philosophy,
metaphysics, logic and epistemology.
It is related to conducts of life known as morality.
The relationship between ethics and philosophy:
There are some presuppositions that are discussed both in ethics and
philosophy.
Ethics has the greatest and most precise relation and interaction with the
concept and norms derived from religion and other religious sciences.
The relationship between ethics and religion:
Most religions have a moral component and religious moral approaches have
dominated over the secular approaches.
It is accepted by some theologians that ethics stems from the revealed truth,
revelation or the divine sources and will continue its function within this
theologian context.
The main difference between religious ethics and secular ethics lies in the
construction of rules which is based on religion in religious ethics and not
based on religion in secular ethics.
One of them is the distinctive nature of religious ethics in its nature, ends
and methods.
One of the other basics of religious ethics is the distinction between religious
and philosophical ethics.
There is variety of methods in religious ethics such as rational and
philosophical methodology, theological methodology and intuitive
methodology.
In religious ethics we rely and depend on all of the three aforementioned
methodologies.
Another important point is the philosophical contexts of morality and ethics,
implication of philosophical developments.
Also important point is the modern criticism of moral theology.
There are some important considerations in religious ethics:
1. divine command theory,
2. divine grace and ethics,
3. ethics and revelation which is one of the fundamental points in religious
ethics,
4. natural law,
5. scatology and ethics,
6. Religion and the deep structures of the sacred and the holy and their
mediations.
7. Norms, values and metaphysics
8. Cosmology and religious ethics
9. Culture and moral pluralism
10. Nature and super nature in ethics
11. Reason and natural law
12. Towards renewal of moral theology and moral development and
preconditions of them.
3. Moral conduct
Moral theology is about human life. Its the rules and regulations of human
life.
To distinguish correctly between right and wrong and to advise others about
what is seen and what is not, what is concealed and what is not, what is bad,
what is good and what is better, wright or wrong.
Specific training for the religious leaders:
1. so that he can direct all others towards a life duty and virtue.
2. warn them against sin and dangers.
3. lead from good to better those who are endowed with necessary light and
moral.
4. raise up and strengthen those who have fallen from moral level
Most religions have an ethical component often derived from purported
supernatural revelation or guidance. For some theologians, ethics is not
only tied up with religion but it is completely settled by religion.
2. Intuition by intellect
For accepting and justifying the validity of such relativity we have to have
some moral reasons.
A scientific account of the phenomenon of morality would explore the
causes and the effects, the costs and consequences of the practice of
morality. But scientific or empirical explanation is one thing and rational or
philosophical explanation seems to be something else.
Moral philosophy in its attempts to articulate what a moral ideal is, what the
nature and conditions of a valid judgment are, seems to be a normative
rather than a descriptive enquiry into humans conduct and attitudes.
When the empirical method is not sufficient, we have to talk about the needs
for rational method.
This rational methodology is followed in our challenge to provide a moral
justification of the moral rules and judgment.
There are two realms:
1. The realms of value which is the subject matter. Or what ought to be.
2. The realms of fact or what actually is.
Therefore, we have to distinguish between these two realms in ethics. For
each realm we have a particular methodology and we need a methodology
and for each realm we have apply a different methodology for examination.
This is the task of any methodological component of any systematic theory
of moral philosophy or the philosophy of ethics.
Islamic Ethics:
The Islamic term corresponding to the concept of ethics, different in scope
and nature, though, is called Elmul-Akhlaq. So is
mostly translated into the Islamic Ethics.
Accordingly, the science of Akhlaq as a branch of knowledge is a field of
science which deals with ways to maintain virtues at their optimum level
that means to do what is right and desirable and avoid what is wrong.
Akhlaq in a broad sense subsumes all actions that are characterized as
. Moreover, the exemplary moral life of the Holy Prophet (Peace
Although the Holy Prophet Mohammads (Peace be upon Him and His
Ethics has lost much of its importance in modern societies because of the
following reasons:
1. Because of the challengers traditional morality had to face
2. Because of the way ethics has recently been conceived; as metaethical
discipline.
3. Because some believes that the normative ethics should not be the
concern of the moral philosophers.
4. Because the judgments on ethical issues are left to the preachers,
politicians and the public.
5. Because the ethics and morality has recently been considered as a private,
subjective and not objective matter.
Social and natural scientists made a distinction between facts and values.
As a rational discipline science should not deal with values, but only with
facts.
1. Facts about the human nature
2. Facts about what constitutes the wellbeing of man
3. Facts about harm and benefits and basic goods and needs
4. And facts about God and truth about religion
The importance of ethics can be shown in its relation with social sciences,
psychology, politics, anthropology and so forth.
Ethical concepts such as equality, justice, freedom and right are central to
legal and political discourse, even in jurisprudence, issues such as the
enforcement of law, justification of punishment, legal obligation, minimal
state, and obeying and disobeying the law are ultimately moral issues, and
even in economics and economic analysis.
Moral philosophy literature on ethical theories in general, and religious
ethics in particular and in Islamic ethics in more particular are extremely
important to the study of social sciences, human enquiries and general
disciplines.
there is a need for religious ethics when there are manmade laws to regulate
human behaviors could be in two ways:
Islam as a religion that presents the systematic theory of ethics, maintains
that ethics has a major role to play in human lives. And the Quranic
ethical codes deal with aspects that human laws may not touch upon and
secular laws may not provide universally accepted moral systems and
ethical standards.
In the global age we live in, morality or lack of morality is no longer a
personal affair. Injustice, corruption, brutality, breach of trust etc. have
become parts of national policies, where practices such as ethnic
cleansing are periodically performed so that in some countries justice and
rights are awarded only to a particular ethnic or group.
Therefore, it became the responsibility of religion to provide a universally
accept morality, and religion is responsible to educate the conscience of the
masses in this respect.
The Islamic morality emphasizes justice for all without distinction and
discrepancy.
In the second part of todays session we want to answer the following
question:
The criteria of a religious ethics in general and Islamic ethics in particular:
1. Universality
4. Intention
2. Overriding
5. Required an effort
3. Voluntarily actions
6. Reasonableness
Four main sources for Islamic ethics:
1. The holy Quran and Sunna
2. The Muslim heritage
3. The human heritage
4. Reason and experience
Different Islamic disciplines and lines of thinking such as jurisprudence,
theology, philosophy and mysticism have taken different approaches to
Islamic ethics.
Theologians, for example, discuss mainly the metaphysical issues such as
free-will and determinism. They also discuss determinacy of human actions
and human motivation.
Philosophers on the other hand, are mostly interested in the discussions of
metaethical questions such as the meaning of ethical words, the nature of
morality, and the justifications of moral judgment.
3. Mystical theory
4. Synthesis theory
3. Philosophical ethics
4. Religious morality or ethics
3. Mystical theory
4. Synthesis theory
b. The traditionalists
c. The jurists
The early commentators of the Holy Quran, the traditionalists and the
jurists naturally engaged in analysis and interpretation involving in large
measure of intellectual activity in a broad sense. But such an activity was
The foundation of Islamic ethics, no matter what type, was originally based
on the Muslims understanding and interpretation of the holy Quran and
practices or Sunna and teachings of the Prophet of Islam and holy Imams
(A.S).
1. In its content: the Muslim scholars who follow this type of approach are
mostly dependent on the words of God and the teachings of the Prophet
of Islam and holy Imams (A.S) in their ethical writings and discourses.
2. In its methodology
a. The interpreters
b. The traditionalists
c. The jurists
The method they are commonly count on is the same method they pursue in
their specific disciplines such as Tafsir, Fiq and Hadith.
1. Submission to Allah; its meaning has always been in context of active
submission to God, facilitated by the Holy Prophet (Peace be upon Him
and His household) and performed by the community in unison.
2. The motive force in Islamic ethics is the notion that every human being
is called to command the good and forbid the evil in all spheres and
aspects of life.
3. The belief that mankind has been granted the faculty to discern Gods
will and to abide by it. This faculty most crucially involves reflecting
over the meaning of existence.
4. Regardless of their environment humans are believed to have a moral
responsibility.
The Quranic passages dealing with three fundamental problems as follows:
1. The nature of right and wrong
2. Divine justice and power
3. Moral freedom and responsibility
According to the holy Quran the fundamental preconditions or grounds for
human responsibility are three:
1. Knowledge or awareness.
3. Freedom
2. Capability
The predominant motive of the holy Quran is undoubtedly the stipulation
that the human agent ought to place himself in an appropriate relation to God
or His commandments. If the agent is to satisfy the conditions of uprightness
Therefore, His sunna, hadith, sayings and actions after the Quran are the
most important sources in Islamic tradition including the Islamic moral
system.
Morality in Islam addresses every aspect of a Muslims life, from greetings
to international relations. It is universal in its scope and in its applicability.
Morality reigns in selfish desires, vanity and bad habits. Muslims must not
only be virtuous, but they must also enjoin virtue. They must not only
refrain from evil and vice, but they must also forbid them. In other words,
they must not only be morally healthy, but they must also contribute to the
moral health of society as a whole.
The summary of right conducts of a moral person in the following wise
statements of the holy Prophet (Peace be upon Him and His household):
My Sustainer has given me nine commands: to remain conscious of God,
whether in private or in public; to speak justly, whether angry or pleased; to
show moderation both when poor and when rich, to reunite friendship with
those who have broken off with me; to give to him who refuses me; that my
silence should be occupied with thought; that my looking should be an
admonition; and that I should command what is right.