Examining Abul-Barakāt al-Baghdādī’s View on the Criterion of Moral Value

Mohiti Ardakan, Hasan

Examining Abul-Barakāt al-Baghdādī’s View on the Criterion of Moral Value

Document Type : Original Article

Author

hasan mohiti ardakan

. Assistant Professor and Faculty Member of University of Islamic Sciences.

Abstract

One of the most important issues in the field of normative ethics is the criterion of moral value. Muslim and non-Muslim moral philosophers have adopted various approaches in addressing this issue, including consequentialism, deontology, and virtue ethics. Among these, the views of Abul-Barakāt al-Baghdādī, a fifth-century AH philosopher and thinker, are particularly noteworthy. The present study aims to analyze and reinterpret his opinions regarding the criterion of moral value and its relation to prevailing viewpoints. Employing a descriptive–analytical method, the research also briefly compares his views with those of prominent utilitarian philosophers, namely Jeremy Bentham and John Stuart Mill. The findings indicate that Abul Barakāt al-Baghdādī’s theory is based on consequentialism and aligns with eudaimonism. In one explanation, he identifies pleasure as the criterion of moral value, while in another, he emphasizes divine imitation. In his explication of pleasure and hedonism, he provides precise criteria for measuring the pleasures and pains of actions, which are comparable to the standards proposed by Bentham and Mill. Therefore, contrary to the views of some researchers, Bentham cannot be regarded as the founder and originator of the calculus of pleasure, as Abul Barakāt precedes him by approximately seven centuries. Moreover, Abul Barakāt’s criteria are more comprehensive, incorporating the felicity of the hereafter and qualitative aspects.

Keywords

Abul Barakāt al-Baghdādī

Normative Ethics

Moral Value

Criterion of Moral Value

Hedonism

Subjects

Ethic philosophy

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