Examining the content of Kalila wa Dimna by Qan‘i Tusi based on the utilitarianism

Kalila wa Dimna of Nasrullah Munshi was rendered in to Persian verse by Qan‘i Tusi in the seventh century AD. It contains 10548 couplets and composed in poetic meter namely bahr-e motaqarib. Kalila wa Dimna deals with ethical and moral teachings and it must be studied on the basis of moral theories. One of the schools is utilitarianism. The utilitarianism theory believes in normative moral system that considers the originality of pleasure as the criterion for the morality of an action. Therefore in the view of this school, values deserve to be preserved and advanced to the extent that they can be interpreted in the interests of individual well-being and collective pleasure as well. But at the same time the benefit of the individual takes precedence over the collective. The present article tries to answer the question with a descriptive and analytical method that which of the types of utilitarianism has a high frequency in the Persian versification of Kalila wa Dimna of Qan‘i Tusi? According to the existing researches, the base of Kalila wa Dimna is moral and ethical teachings. However, these literary texts mainly vouch for personal benefit. The individual benefit must take precedence over collective interest to the extent that it orders the king. Regardless, if the subordinate has become his or her equal, must be eliminated.