Research Quarterly in Islamic Ethics
Year:2015 | Volume:8 | Issue:28|Papers Count:7

Imagination, particularly ethical imagination is a category having gained less attention in regard to its definition and nature, and investigating its role in many ethical systems and theories including Islamic ethics has been neglected. To achieve this purpose, a definition of ethical imagination is proposed and its relation with current paradigms is studied. Subsequent to illustrating the relation and differences between ethical imagination and the concepts like superstition or belief in the unseen, the role and effect of imagination will be analyzed in two separate levels: the level of formal principles and the level of norms of Islamic ethics. To do so, the function of imagination in the golden rule is analyzed as an important principle among the formal principles of Islamic ethics and by investigating some virtues and vices such as interest free loan, backbiting, zakat, murder and rehabilitation, the role of imagination in the realm of norms will be analyzed.

Studies show that employed mothers have to spend times twice the unemployed ones each day to be able to fulfill both their maternal and conjugal duties as well as their occupational responsibility which will cause decrease of their ability and excessive boredom and fatigue. Islam is not opposed to employment of women out of house provided that their ethical health, sanctity and chastity will not be damaged or jeopardized and the foundation of the family remains unaffected. On the contrary, by sending women excessively to the labor market, feminism has made serious damages to home environment which is the best atmosphere for revealing women’s functions and the most important way for women to have social participation and to have effects on the family members. Having an analytico-descriptive method in this study, Islam and feminism viewpoints about women’s employment are compared and then, the related ethical challenges for family are investigated from feminism’s viewpoint and Islam’s solutions are discussed subsequently.

The ethical teaching stating “treat other people in the same way in which you would like them to treat you” has been known as “equity” in Islam and “the Golden Rule” in the contemporary ethical systems. Despite of semantic similarity and pervasiveness of these two concepts in all domains of human behavior, there are ambiguities in regard to some aspects of the subject and its general scheme on the one hand, and on the other hand some conflicts and misunderstandings can be observed being still taken into account by the contemporary ethical system. Analysis of the findings suggest that the concept of “equity” is overlapped with “the Golden Rule” and having a systemic analysis on the common meaning of both i.e. having reasonable and legitimate expectations from self and others in the cases of being in similar assumed situations, an appropriate behavioral pattern can be proposed for individual and social lives.

Nowadays, development of markets, variety of products and increase of the number of production companies have created a competitive environment according to which the companies have to resort to the strategies bringing about more profitability and durability for them in market. In the meantime, excessive attention to survival of the company and its profitability deviate the directors’ focus from a fundamental principle being known as ethics in administration of market affairs. This matter is particularly significant in Islamic societies; therefore, recognizing the ethical criteria of Islam about marketing affairs and implementing them are the solutions not only increasing the companies’ profitability in these societies due to attracting more customers, but also prolonging their survival in market. Accordingly, having the aim of recognizing the ethical values of Islam in regard to marketing management and investigating the first hand texts of Islam (Quran and Narrations), a set of ethical values emphasized by this divine religion is studied and proposed in the paper.

This paper includes a conceptual analysis from the viewpoint of seven live religions of the world (Judaism, Christianity, Islam, Buddha, Hindu, Confucius, and Zoroastrianism) about the Golden Rule. According to the religions, this rule includes features such as “self”, “otherness” and “approbation” and a look upon interpersonal relations indicate that the religious people of all religions are requested to practice the same. Seeing oneself in the existence status of otherness or observing the behavior of oneself from another perspective is the favorable attitudes adopted by the religions. Considering different factors of this rule in religions records especially the factor of “otherness” convey the fact that religions do not recommend to observe the golden rule only against coreligionists but regardless of any specific religion, it is recommended to be practiced as a universal rule.

Different viewpoints upon the nature of ethical necessities has become the source of variety in theories in this regard. One of these them is Ayatollah Larijani’s theory of Ethical Necessities which has been distinguished from other theories due to having belief in meaningfulness and nafs ul-amri realities. Explaining Ayatollah Larijani’s viewpoint and having an overview of the other theories from his viewpoint, the theory of ethical and rational necessities has been analyzed and evaluated in three areas of semantics, ontology, and epistemology and while certainty of different parts of this theory is insisted on without any conflicts, it is addressed by some criticisms. Restraint of reason in perception shall be reflected upon and Quranic, narrative and philosophical emphasizes about the position of practical reason and its necessity and policy shall be considered. In accordance with the position of reason in different resources and explain it precisely, our perception from rational commandments demands more explications and by considering the approach reasonableness of intellect, the implied justifications of the above-mentioned viewpoint will be faced to some conflicts. However, if the position of reason is realized differently, investigations of the scientists including Professor Larijani’s on the theory of ethical and rational necessities will become the commence of acceleration in the process of achieving a comprehensive theory about ethical theory of Islam.

This study aims at investigating the theoretical framework of preach acceptance based on Quran and Hadith. Adopting library-descriptive and content analysis methods, the paper is an attempt to investigate and discover the elements effective in acceptance of preaches followed by studying the relations between them and identifying the system governing them. The findings of the study indicated that faith, virtue, reason, asceticism, internal preacher, soft heart and consciousness are among the effective elements in accepting preaches being classified into three groups of cognitive, emotional and operational elements. Accordingly, the theoretical framework of accepting preaches is based on rational self, emotional self, inhibitor self and preacher self. On the one hand, these four “selves” shall be created and strengthened in individuals before preaching that is a duty of the advertising and educational systems. On the other hand, by designing its evaluation instrument, recognizing the people who accept preach could be distinguished from those who do not accept it.