An Examination of the Relationship between the Evolution of Intellect and Ethics based on the Narrations of the Book Ghurar al-Ḥikam Journal Article

Specifying the conceptual identity of intellect and distinguishing it from knowledge, this article addresses ethical perfection as the main goal in the human perfection path. The purpose of this article is to specify the evolutionary interrelationship of intellect and ethics and the outcome of the effects of these two on the perfection of the human from the viewpoint of Islam in general and the narrations of the book Ghurar al-ḥikam in particular. The results of the study reveal that according to Imām ‘Alī’s (a) statements, there is an interrelationship between intellect and ethics, where ethics without intellect is imperfect and intellect without ethics cannot play its role correctly. In this article, first the essential and conceptual differences of intellect and knowledge are given. Then, the mutual evolutionary effects of intellect and ethics on each other and the role of these two in the evolutionary movement of the human are discussed.

Assisstant Professor, Department of Islamic Studies, Faculty of Theology, University of Kurdistan, Kurdistan, Iran Received: July 23, 2020 ; Revised: August 22, 2020 ; Accepted: October 5, 2020 © University of Tehran Abstract Specifying the conceptual identity of intellect and distinguishing it from knowledge, this article addresses ethical perfection as the main goal in the human perfection path. The purpose of this articleis to specify the evolutionary interrelationship of intellect and ethics and the outcome of the effects of these two on the perfection of the human from the viewpoint of Islam in general and the narrations of the book Ghurar al-ḥikam in particular. The narrations in this regard suggest that intellect is the same as the faculty of understanding and perceiving that moves the human toward goodness and righteousness and prevents him from badness and corruption, as the foregoing narration introduces intellect as a means to worship God and to achieve paradise … therefore, the perfect intellectual is one who has that effect (Kulaynī, 2008, vol. The effect of intellect on ethics The reflection on the narrations and the qur’ānic verses indicates that the establishment of the good and bad traits in the human and the adoption of divine manners need a deep knowledge of religion, and the attainment of this knowledge requires the correct use of intellect.