Virtue Ethics and the Relation between Religion and Morality: The viewpoint of Allameh Tabatabaie

Abstract

As an approach in normative ethics, virtue ethics emphasizes the virtuous actions in a teleological context which aims at happiness and good. In such an ethical system, the actualization of human (natural and spiritual) potentialities is considered, which entails epistemologically the human happiness and good. Virtue ethics focuses on moral agent who pursues the aim of moral goodness. It is important for this viewpoint, which pays attention to the human perfection, to be compared to religious commands, which are also take the human perfection into consideration.In this article, I shall explore the relation between religion and virtue ethics, according ethical theory of Allameh Tabatabaie. Tabatabaie believes that religion and morality are ontologically independent and morality is innate for human beings. He, however, uphold that epistemologically, morality could not be recognized by pure reason. Rather, there are some laws in religion, as the guide, which should be followed by morality.

Keywords

• virtue ethics
• allameh tabatabaie
• ultimate perfection
• happiness
• ethics
• religion