Evaluation of the Ethical Function of Genre of Fiction in Ibn-Sina's Oriental Essays

In his Oriental Essays, Ibn-Sina puts away the languge of argument, and presents his philosophy by using fictional language and metaphors. To investigate why Ibn-Sina has used such an artistic language, in this paper, first, we will consider the special function of genere of fiction in Ibn-Sina’s opinion. It will be shown that for Ibn-Sina the imaginary language of poem has exceptional role in moral guiding the addressees of his philosophy. Then, by focusing on the common points between art and morality from Ibn-Sina’s philosophical point of view, the theoretical foundations of studying ethical problems in a framework of art will be examined. After explaining the role of imaginal power in the epistemic process of abstraction, we will show how Ibn-Sina has used an imaginary language to make his moral principles acceptable. Finally, by appealing to imagination as a mediator between sense-perception and intellectual discernment, the relation between vrious aspects and fields of Ibn- Sina’s moral philosophy as another consequence of his use of metaphors and imaginative language will be introduced.