Tusi’s Nasirean Ethics vs. Soroush’s Ethics of Gods: An Assessment from a Critical Rationalist Perspective

Abstract

Abstract While first-order ethical norms and prescriptions appear to be universal, the same is not true for second-order ethics and moral philosophies. The contrast between various models of second-order ethics can be usefully explored through a comparative assessment of the ethics of a pre-modern Muslim scholar with those of a modern one. In this article, I critically compare and contrast the views of Khawaja Nasir al-Din Tusi with those of Abdolkarim Soroush. 1 The former subscribes to a modified Aristotelian framework enriched by Islamic teachings, whereas the latter has developed a theory that, while also inspired by Islamic teachings, is informed by the views of a number of modern philosophers.