ভূমিকা

Shiavault - a Vault of Shia Islamic Books Life under the Grace of Ethics Quadruple principles of ethics in view of the Ancients • Studying and criticism • Scale for evaluation of good and bad morality • Effect of seclusion and unsociability in morality • Arguments of advocators of seclusion and association • Exceptional cases in which seclusion is permitted • Vigilance and self-examination or studying incentives and consequences.

First, we shall review a prospect of the principles of ethics in view of pioneers of this technique, and study exactly the course of their discussion in brief. Ethics scholars have summarized principles of moral virtues in four articles: 1- Wisdom 2- Chastity 3- Bravery 4- Justice They believe that each of these four principles has a norm, between two extremes of sensual powers and instincts, and so moral vices are on two sides of them, and there are two vicious attributes for each virtue.

1- Wisdom means moderation in recognition and understanding of realities as they are, and the opposite side in its high extreme is "slyness and astuteness", which refers to hyperactivity of perception faculty and relying on the probabilities and doubtful matters and non-stability on correct theories and in its low extreme is "stupidity and dullness".

2- Chastity refers to moderation in using lusts and appropriate utilization from desires and instincts, and the opposite side in its high extreme is "greed and self-indulgence" and in its low extreme is "numbness". 3- Bravery is moderation in anger faculty and fearing of what should be feared and not fearing of what should not, and the opposite side in its high extreme is "rashness" and temerity, and in its low extreme is "cowardice" and horror.

4- Justice refers to listening of desire and anger powers to intellect power and their appropriate control for correction and prosperity, and the opposite side in its high extreme is "being oppressed and tolerance of oppression" and in low extreme is "injustice".

They assume moral vices infinite in one aspect, while moral virtues, as the normal limit and moderate point, have only one stage, and thus they have resembled it to the centre of a circle, which is only one point, and the vices to infinite points existing within the circle. It is narrated from Mohaghegh Tousi, Khajeh Nasireddin and some other scholars that "the path" described in the traditions as: «اَدَقُّ مِنَ الشَّعْرِ وَ اَحَدُّ مِنَ السَّیْفِ».