Javadi Amoli's Moral Philosophy

Like many other Islamic philosophers, Javadi Amoli holds that ethical concepts and statements are i'tibatri (constructivistic). I'tibatr is a mental (rational) action that humankind does, regarding present realities and ideal ends, generally before any act, and especially before any moral act. i'tibatr is a theory about philosophy of action in general, and particularly about ethics. He asserts that the nature of ethical statements is insha'i (performative) and performative utterances express those rational constructs. Moral statements which have constative form are really performative. Moral rational constructs are not arbitrary and they are based on realities and common human ends. This theory is a kind of non-cognitivism but it supports moral absolutism. We have proofs for moral claims, and like theoretical realm, there are self-evident propositions in practical realm. In a perfect ethics (individual or social) that aims at human elevation, we need not only the rightness of human actions but also the goodness of moral agents. In ethical theory, Javadi Amoli is a virtue ethicist, but he takes duty and consequences of actions into consideration. Religious ethics differs from secular ethics because the existence of God and the next world are realities that require especial rational performative utterances.