ETHICAL RESEARCH (RESEARCH JOURNAL OF THE ASSOCIATION FOR ISLAMIC THOUGHT)
Year:2010 | Volume:1 | Issue:1|Papers Count:7

Constructivism is a meta-ethical theory about the nature of truth and the moral features, which is in contrast to realism. Firstly, John Rawls, the American philosopher, used the term "constructivism" in moral theories. The main meaning of it is that we can make moral obligations systems through a non-dialectical procedure, which is empty of strange meta-ethical requirements. In his lectures, Rawls, presented a constructivistic interpretation of Kant's ethics and then called his moral theory Kantian constructivism. This interpretation claims that the base of constructivism is the categorical imperative, which is the formulation of the universal law. The most famous account of the procedure of construction in Kant's thought-i.e. categorical imperative-origins from free will. This article, tries to study the second critic of Kant and constructivism in Kant's ethics.

The "perfect man" is a term that Sufis invented and used in their discussions about ontological problems. On the one hand, it is related to the knowledge of God; and on the other hand, it is related to anthropology and cosmology. They believe that perfect man is the most complete theophany in the world, and therefore is the best mirror for the Majesty and the Divine Beauty, and the mediator in creation. Thus the knowing of perfect man is necessary for the knowing of the world and its creator. The Quran and the Imams, also introduced, interpreted and explained the characteristics of the perfect man. In this article, we study a part of Imam Ali's words and Sufis's words about perfect man.

The problem of happiness has been and is one of the basic problems of ethics and moral philosophy. Farabi introduces the ways of gaining happiness as following: granting of intelligibles from "active intelligence", recognition of sense of happiness and faith in it, to have continuity on blissful deeds and acts, benefiting from the mentor, to dominate on theoretical and practical reason, utilization of middle term theory, possessing of perfections and extinction of willful and involuntary evils and seditions, and replacement of willful and involuntary charities. He believes that to show weakness on completion of the human soul and to acknowledge about happiness and not to aim at it is the obstacles of happiness. Contrary to Aristotle and worldly followers of happiness, he also believes that it is not impossible to gain the farther happiness in this world. His sociological outlook has had a serious effect on his analysis of different parts of happiness.

This article tries to explain the problem that the Islamic ethics, strictly speaking, is viable or not. If rational goodness and badness is a foundation of Islamic ethics, OR moral realities are acceptable ill Islamic view, then what distinguishes Islamic ethics from rational ethics, and what is its unique characteristic? Also, this paper studies the relation between ethics and religion from another viewpoint.

One of the forms of moral realism is the ontological realism which is divided into moral naturalism and moral non-naturalism. Moral naturalism is also divisible into three general kinds: reductive moral naturalism, non-reductive moral naturalism, and new-Aristotelian moral naturalism that is discussed by some people such as Philippa Foot. In Foot's view, moral goodness in human beings is like the natural goodness in plants and animals. So, since the natural goodness in plants and animals as a factual thing is the necessary condition of their flourishing, the moral goodness (moral virtue) in human beings as a factual and objective thing is also a necessary requirement of human flourishing. Therefore, evaluation in plants and animals, 011 the one hand, and in human beings, on the other hand, has logically the same structure. Responding to the problem to the effect that moral goodness in human beings unlike animals is determined by reason and rationality, Foot introduces a new conception of practical reason upon which not only practical rationality does not determine moral goodness, but reversely the moral goodness is the necessary condition of practical rationality in human beings.

Natural selection is one of the fundamental principles of evolutionary theory. Natural selection predicts that human has to be evolutionarily selfish. But, in fact, he also-is evolutionarily altruist. Five evolutionary approaches to human behavior try to explain this fact. In this way, human morality is also explained. Some philosophers defend a particular meta-ethical theory using these explanations. Christian thinkers are also involved in this debate. I expose and criticize-Stephen Pope's views, which is a kind of religious naturalism. He thinks that some emergent complexities are specific to human which result from biological evolution. Cognitive abilities and freedom are among the most important features. Perfection of these natural characteristics is the basis of ethics. According to Christian theology, knowledge and love of God and other humans are the perfection of those characteristics. But human can elevate himself from this level by God's grace. I criticize this view from an Islamic non-naturalistic perspective.