Transcendent Policy

Transcendent Policy

The Examination of Ethical Virtue Ethics as a Foundation for Political-Legal Virtue Ethics from the Perspective of Mullā Ṣadrā

Document Type : Original Article

Authors
1 PhD., Student, Department of Philosophy of Law, Baqir al-Olum University, Qom, Iran
2 Professor, Research Institute for Islamic Culture and Thought, Qom, Iran
3 Professor, Department of Moral Philosophy, University of Qom, Qom, Iran
10.22034/sm.2025.1988004.2017
Abstract
Investigating the implications of the ethical virtue ethics theory as developed by Islamic philosophers such as Fārābī, Khwājah Naṣīr al-Dīn Ṭūsī, and Ibn Sīnā in the realm of political and legal theory is essential for the social extension of Islamic philosophy. However, such an endeavor requires a cohesive examination of the concepts of virtue ethics across the three domains of ethical, political, and legal theories as a unified normative framework—an approach that has hitherto remained neglected. In this context, the present study seeks to outline the general foundations of Mullā Ṣadrā’s philosophical virtue ethics with respect to key issues in the philosophy of ethics, politics, and law, presenting these foundations as the principles of a coherent moral–political–legal normative school. The central research question is: Does Mullā Ṣadrā’s ethical theory have the capacity to infer and derive a legal system—albeit through the mediation of political concepts? If so, what are the concepts that can be considered as integrative and determinant of the pillars of Mullā Ṣadrā’s ethical, political, and legal theory? It appears that in the Ṣadrian system of ḥikmat mutaʿāliya (transcendent theosophy), the philosophy of ethics is structured around fundamental values based on anthropological concepts such as felicity (saʿādah), virtue (faḍīlah), and justice (ʿadālah). Mullā Ṣadrā expands his ethical theory by proposing the concept of rational felicity (saʿādah ʿaqliyyah), which he defines as the perception of metaphysical truths and the comprehension of the absolute existence of God. He uses saʿādah as the foundation for deducing political concepts such as the madīnah faḍīlah (virtuous city), the promotion of virtues, and the avoidance of vices, asserting that the political legitimacy of a ruler depends on their ability to realize felicity within society through management and the exercise of political power. In the field of legal philosophy, Mullā Ṣadrā identifies three fundamental principles: the preservation of life (ḥifẓ al-nafs), the preservation of lineage (ḥifẓ al-nasl), and the preservation of property (ḥifẓ al-māl). These principles are framed in coherence with fundamental anthropological values. Such principles provide the structural foundation for organizing a theory of virtue-based ethics, politics, and law in accordance with Mullā Ṣadrā’s unique version. These principles are unified by the overarching concept of saʿādah in Mullā Ṣadrā’s view.
Keywords

قرآن کریم.
ابن‏سینا (2007). رسالة فی معرفة النفس الناطقة و أحوالها (أحوال النفس). پاریس: دار بیبلیون.
اترک، حسین (۱۳۹۳ الف). فضیلت‌گرایی ابن سینا. پژوهشنامه اخلاق، 7(24): ص۲۴-۲۸.
اترک، حسین (۱۳۹۳ب). نظریه اخلاقی ملاصدرا. آیینه معرفت، ۲۸(۵۸): ص۲۸-۵۸.
افلاطونی، حمیده؛ ملایوسفی، مجید (۱۳۹۵). نقد فیلیپا فوت بر عقلانیت عملی کانت. حکمت معاصر، ۷(۴): ص۱-۲۴.
بهارنژاد، زکریا (1392). فضیلت از دیدگاه فارابی. آیینه معرفت، شماره 118.
حبیبی، محسن؛ صادقی‌نژاد، علی (۱۳۹۶). بررسی و مقایسه فضیلت‌گرایی ابن مسکویه و مایکل اسلوت. حکمت معاصر، ۸(۱): ص۵۵-۷۲.
حکمت‏نیا، محمود (1386). حقوق زنان. قم: سازمان انتشارات پژوهشگاه فرهنگ و اندیشه اسلامی.
خواص، امیر و همکاران (1385). فلسفه اخلاق. قم: دفتر نشر معارف.
رضانژاد، حسین (1387). مشاهد الألوهیة. قم: آیت اشراق، ج3.
فارابی، ابونصر (1995). آراء أهل المدینة الفاضلة ومضاداتها. دارالمشرق.
فارابی، محمد بن محمد (1405ق). الجمع بین رأیی الحکیمین. تهران: مکتبة الزهراء.
ملاصدرا (۱۳۱۴ق). المبدأ والمعاد. دار احیاء التراث.
ملاصدرا (1354). المبدأ و المعاد. تهران: انجمن فلسفه ایران.
ملاصدرا (1360). شرح أصول الکافی. تهران: وزارت فرهنگ و آموزش عالی، موسسه مطالعات و تحقیقات فرهنگی (پژوهشگاه)، ج 4.
ملاصدرا (1366). تفسیر القرآن الکریم. قم: نشر بیدار، ج1.
ملاصدرا (1368). الحکمة المتعالیة فی الأسفار العقلیة الأربعة. مکتبة المصطفوی، ج9.
ملاصدرا (1378). المظاهر الإلهیة فی أسرار العلوم الکمالیة. تهران: بنیاد حکمت اسلامی صدرا.
ملاصدرا (1394). ترجمه المظاهر الإلهیة. امیرکبیر.
Solum, L.B. (2007). Virtue Jurisprudence: An Aretaic Theory of Law
https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-007-6031-8_1
Twining, W. (2009). General jurisprudence: Understanding law from a global perspective. Cambridge University Press.
West, R. (2011). Normative Jurisprudence. Cambridge University Press.