A Comparative Study of the Theory of Virtue in the Thought of Plotinus and Mullā Ṣadrā

Saidy, Mahmud; Zamaniha, Hossein

doi:10.22067/epk.2024.90640.1384

A Comparative Study of the Theory of Virtue in the Thought of Plotinus and Mullā Ṣadrā

Document Type : Original Article

Authors

Mahmud saidy ¹

Hossein Zamaniha ²

¹ Associate Professor, Department of Islamic Philosophy and Wisdom, Shahid University

² Associate Professor of the Philosophy and Wisdom Department of Shahid University

10.22067/epk.2024.90640.1384

Abstract

Virtue has long been regarded as one of the central subjects in moral philosophy. Although the origins of virtue ethics can be traced back to Socrates, it was Plato who first presented a systematic written account of virtue in his dialogues. Aristotle subsequently developed the doctrine of the ethical mean. As two eminent theistic philosophers representing the Neoplatonic and Islamic philosophical traditions, respectively, Plotinus and Mullā Ṣadrā devoted considerable attention to the theory of virtue in their philosophical works. The present study aims to examine and compare their respective conceptions of virtue through an analytical-comparative approach. The findings may be summarized as follows: (a) both philosophers classify virtue into two principal categories, namely theoretical and practical virtue. The ultimate end of theoretical virtue is assimilation to God or, in Plotinus's terminology, to the Forms, whereas the principal practical virtues serve primarily as means of attaining theoretical virtue. (b) Both Plotinus and Mullā Ṣadrā assign theoretical virtue a higher status than practical virtue; nevertheless, the perfection of both kinds of virtue is regarded as indispensable for the attainment of human happiness.

Keywords

Plotinus

Mullā Ṣadrā

Virtue

God

Forms

Ethics

Subjects

Islamic Philosophy and Kalam

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