Authors : Valiollah Khoshtinat
Abstract: This research studies moral principles, ethics and life from the point of view of scientists and then investigates the role of ethic in rational life. Literally, ethics means the inner characteristics and technically it signifies the set of ingrained habits and spiritual qualities. These habits are presumed to be achieved through practice and perseverance. Ethics discusses qualities that constitute human character as well as qualities that drive him away from humanity. Life, on the other hand, means to be alive literally, however, in practice different scholars have unfolded it differently. What is understood from all definitions is that all scientists agree on its existence and accept its outcomes such as to be purposeful, procreation, etc. There are 2 kinds of life: one is the pure natural life that human beings practice to survive and the other is the rational life, which refers to conscious activities which, through volition, guides deterministic and semi-deterministic forces of natural life, along with the existence. Ethics is also of 2 dimensions: pure natural ethics and evolutionary ethics, the latter being put forward in rational life. Evolutionary ethic is human being’s awareness of necessities and merits that take place on the way of love for evolution. By expressing the compulsory natural life and evolutionary life and comparing the 2 as well as describing the evolutionary ethic and also, through integrating the ethics and rational life, this research is to pave the way for ethical development and flowering that is considered by Islam. And to the writer, this very case is distinction between the present research and the previous ones.
Valiollah Khoshtinat , 2009. The Role of Ethics in Rational Life. The Social Sciences, 4: 291-294.
INTRODUCTION
Although, much has been told about human's highest character, its parameters and characteristics, what is of importance is separating the pure natural ethic from the evolutionary ethic which is discussed in rational life and without this distinction the required result will be gained neither in individual dimension nor in social one.
Evolutionary ethics is a term used in contrast with deterministic natural ethics and it is meant human's highest character possible in rational life. It is to be aware of human-making necessities and merits. This awareness takes place to prepare him to continue his way of being greatly interested in perfection and contrasting the action, saying, intention, thoughts and being determined towards those necessities and merits.
Definition of important terms: Strict and correct research in the role of ethics in rational life, depends on the full understanding of the words and expressions used in that research and because of this, the present research is to define and explore each of them hereinafter.
Ethic: Rahbar and Rahimian (1998) define ethic as ‘inner feature and unshakable bodily appearance, through which good and bad volitional deeds take place by human being without trouble and deliberation’.
Sadat (1987) believes it to be ‘a series of bodily habits and spiritual qualities and characteristics; ethics in this sense is not only one of the results of training, but the most important one.
Mesbah (2003) defines ethic as ‘the permanent and constant quality i.e., habit and technically it is all bodily qualities that are origins for good or bad deeds, be they permanent and constant or unstable and transient. Sometimes the word ethics is only used about good and admirable qualities and deeds.
Deilami and Azarbaijani (2004), Ethics is the plural form of the word ethic meaning the inner force and nature of human being recognizable only through insight and non-visible eyes.
Moskooyeh (1996) ethics is a bodily state that causes the man to move towards action without a need for thinking and deliberating.
Ethics: Sharifi (2006) it is possessing knowledge about what kind of ethic can the essence of human being acquires in order for all states and deeds that are consciously issued from him to be beautiful and likeable.
Jacks (1977) ethics is doing research in one’s behavior in the way it supposed to be.
Naraghi (2004) ethics is the science that together with introducing and presenting different kinds of merits and defects, teaches us how to acquire merits and push away the defects from ourselves.
Eslami (1997) ethics discusses the qualities that constitute human being’s character, as well as the qualities that push him away from humanity.
Life: Life means to be alive, but technically there is no agreement about its definition and it seems, similar to the essence of existence, the essence of life is among the unknown realities. Philosophers, theosophists and biologists have differently viewed its aspects. But it can be said that, in fact, this definition points out to some effects and results of the life rather than the reality of life.
For instance, the following can be pointed out in this regard:
Shirazi (1981) considers the life as the origin for the effects. He says life is a form of something’s existence that issues some effects that are issued by the course of life.
Sohravardi (2001), life is the thing that the visible existence possesses and alive is the intelligent and doer.
Tabatabaee (1983), we consider alive the thing that is conceiver and doer; therefore, life is the origin of perception and action is the origin of science and power.
Akhvanossafa (1957) life is of 2 kinds: the first is related to the body and the 2nd to the essence. Biologists have also, defined life in different ways. They have mostly been engaged in the effects of life (feeding, development and reproduction).
As it was seen before, in each one of the mentioned definitions a single dimension from among different dimensions of the life have been paid attention to and a comprehensive definition that includes different kinds of life among existents (either of material nature such as plants, animals and human beings or of the nature of non-material such as God and the angels) has not been offered. However, in any form the life is defined, it is something that all people agree on its existence and that, there are some effects and characteristics such as essence, feeding, development, procreation, being targeted and ability among all living things. The most important of these are science and power, which mostly appear in human beings.
Common points of all these forms and manifestations are:
| • | The presence of order, organizing, suitability and harmony concerning all living things |
| • | The existence of a defined goal and destination for biologic actions. Materialists (including Aparin) inevitably accept these 2 common points (Shakiba, 1986) |
Rational life: Jafari (1980) rational life is the conscious life that regulates compulsory and semi-compulsory forces and actions of natural life, taking the advantages of development of flowering freedom, in the same direction as relative evolutionary aims and in this way humanely characteristics that are being shaped through this passage, enter into the highest goal of the life. This highest aim is taking part in the general harmony of the existence that is dependant on the highest wish.
Being aware of the life means being aware of its main goals and laws, principles and values of the life. Being aware of the life is to feel aliveness and this feeling proves human being’s superiority to other beings of the world, otherwise the man encounters self-estrangement and in case of not being aware of the nature of life, its basic rules will also encounter unawareness. That, which goals the life should follow and what the values of life are, will be remained far away from the range of awareness and such a life such as lives of inanimate objects and plants will encounter the instant factors and will not be capable of being commented upon through any philosophy.
MATERIALS AND METHODS
The present research is to briefly study the role of ethics in rational life and since studying in this field requires referring to the best known and authentic books, it is of the kind of review-related and library study. And also, since the present research is to prove the teaching and training in rational life, inference is employed as its technical analysis plan.
Comparing and contrasting evolutionary ethics and compulsory natural ethics: From the view point of compulsory natural ethic, good ethics is defined as:
| • | Human's flexibility to accept what happens in the society, his sociability with other people, preventing the conflict and trouble, preventing conflicting and troubling them (it makes no difference weather the people of the society are pious, self-taught and believers in God or corrupt). Such people will adopt values of the society in which they choose to live |
| • | Good ethics is to follow and obey a few principles resulted from the quality of life in a society and it is the outcome of hereditary, historic, racial, economical and cultural factors specific to the said society that is not in conformity with human principles |
| • | Good ethics is that acts as the feelings and affections of other people demand and it will make no difference this act is advisable for them or not |
| • | Highest ethics is oneness concerning the juridical laws and reducing the infraction and crime and a means for social peaceful coexistence |
While, evolutionary ethics is:
| • | To feel being a part of a whole of humanely life that God's breath has been blown into it (Jafari, 1985) and accept the fact that being in contact with all human beings is the relationship between a spirit and its sum. Evolutionary ethics with its 2 basic elements of awareness and action, that have been mentioned in its definition, causes one's spirit to reach to such a level of flowering that he understands the divine formula of 1= the whole and the whole = 1 |
| • | Anyone who kills a human being who has not committed a manslaughter or corruption on the world, it is as if he has killed all human beings and anyone who saves a man's life it is as if he has given life to all human beings (Quran, Maedeh, verse 32). |
| • | Such a person, upon accepting the mentioned basic principle, will favor for himself what he favors for others and won't prefer for others what he doesn't prefer for himself-in this case he will really be able to taste the real and sweet flavor of rational life and reach to his final happiness and flowering due to the love for highest perfection. |
| • | It is clear that such a movement and understanding and feeling, will be impossible without getting rid of pure natural life in order to arrive into the rational life and since this behavior is objective and dynamic, it will not present flexibility to everything in the society and will not lose its essence. |
| • | This ethics, along with evaluating the humanely feelings and affections and accepting the necessity for their saturation within the rational limits strengthens its foundations upon the feelings elevated by humanely permanent principles |
| • | Ethics in rational life is not being completely surrendered to compulsory laws of social life that are the effect of inheritance, race, etc., but bearing free conscience, that is reflective of perfections and charities and stimulates the man towards them, it interacts with its society |
| • | Evolutionary ethics is beyond the thought that to be considered as a server for social rights and a means for reducing the offense and crime. Although this is among the ethic-making results in rational life, ethics in its rational state is the ratio of spirit to the body and the Holy Prophet of Islam introduces it as the objective of his prophetic mission |
Indeed I have been appointed to complete the generosities of the ethic (Noori, 1987).
The great scholar Jafari (1980) (God's mercy befalls him) concludes from the above noble Hadith:
Rational life that deserves documentation to the one God and can be called the unpolluted life, is based on the highest humanely ethics that the Holy Prophet (Peace Be Upon Him) has been appointed to complete and conclude it (Jafari, 1980).
Necessities of evolutionary ethics: There are some reasons to prove the need for evolutionary ethics concerning human beings just as the need for rational life for them.
The 1st reason, according to the history, any society in which the compass of conscience of evolutionary ethics has worked better and more correct, the ship of individual and social life of that society has passed over the surface of the sea of its history without encountering any difficulties.
The 2nd reason, not any proper humanely civilization in history direction has been revealed and reached to the highest point of exaltation without forgiveness and sincere, conscious and elective devotion of its original founders.
When, the God awakens a nation to stand on its own feet and reach to the highest points of development, He, at first, establishes its ethics (Jafari, 1985).
The 3rd reason, lack of evolutionary ethics concerning any individual or any society that has not been cautioned and some states and changes have not taken place in the main elements of his mind, has caused different agitations, temptations and distresses such as:
| • | The unspoiled and constructive loves in the minds of human beings to be disappeared |
| • | Feeling aimlessness in life that prescribes committing all of the ugliness and vulgarities |
| • | Feeling the self as an aim and the others as a means, that will cause all human being's lives to become worthless |
| • | Feeling the necessity for being in relation with other people because of the need and for parting from them because of the personal benefits |
Some descriptions about evolutionary ethics:
| • | Ethics is the prosperity of reality in human's soul |
| • | Ethics reflects safe life and conscience of human being and the conscience is as the compass of existence ship of the people in the ocean of existence |
| • | Ethics is the interpreter of rational life of human beings |
| • | Ethics is the cause of human beings victory against their animal-like qualities |
| • | No happiness or joy can be equal to the happiness which comes into existence into the minds of moral human beings |
| • | The intention and decision which come into the existence due to the one's highest humanely characters, don't lead to regret |
| • | Feeling duty based upon the highest moral perfections is the best feeling that blossoms into the minds of human beings |
| • | No nation or people, lacking the highest moral perfections, is worthy of being studied through the pages of the large book of history |
| • | There is no sign and denotation to be like ethics for understanding of the human being |
| • | If the highest character of human being is eliminated from his life, there will remain a complex and dangerous being that calls itself human being |
According to the above descriptions, the elimination of the highest moral perfections from the people's lives is just equal to their needlessness for personality and/or it is to make the reality to be destroyed, the reality which has separated them from other animals (Jafari, 1988).
CONCLUSION
Human being possesses potential abilities that are activated through practice and perseverance. Indeed, the main and important ground of ethics are abilities, specifications and human being’s positive existential dimensions that reach to the highest point of values and evolutions through practice. In this exalted rise of human being, feeling oneself as a part of the whole of humanely life, in which the divine breath has been blown and accepting the fact that relationship with all human beings is the relationship of a spirit with its whole, evolutionary ethics comes to existence which is referred to as ethics in rational life. And if ethics is unwanted and wrong, it will lead human beings towards falling into inferior situations.