Virtue ethics can be defined as an ethical approach that emphasises the character of the agent. Whereas consequentialism emphasises the consequences of the action, and deontological ethics the rules that one may follow, virtue ethics define a virtuous act by a certain virtue in the agent, for example benevolence or generosity. Virtue ethics is not in conflict with deontological or consequentialist approaches, and can even be reconciled with them. The action driven by virtue ethics actually precedes the other two approaches: while deontological ethics or consequentialism addresses what is to be done in any given situation, virtue ethics focuses on the ways to develop certain virtues, or character patterns, in order to act well when needed. The main problem for virtue ethics, then, is 1) to define which virtues are desirable, and 2) how to develop them.

The purpose of life? To reach perfection, Ostad Elahi answers. To lead your soul to maturity, a state in which you perfectly control your impulses while respecting your very nature. A state that is the prime condition of inner freedom. Granted, perfection is to be attained, but how? Through action, Ostad Elahi insists, and he reminds us that in this matter as in many others, “practice makes perfect.” For while thinking and talking may awaken the desire to change and may help us find ways that can lead to this change, contemplating a virtue is not enough to actually develop one. It is imperative that action take over from words and lead to practice. But not just any kind of practice.

The Sunday mornings of my childhood had been blessed by the wondrous events of the life of Jesus Christ – unreal though they seemed. In later years, having burnt my bridges, while I found myself confronted with inner tensions and outer aggressions, excerpts from those sacred texts came back to me and I realized how […]

If, as normal individuals without extraordinary faculties, we are to carry through to the end the task of self perfection, we should bear in mind that we would not be able to achieve this without drawing sustenance from a transcendent source of energy. By cultivating within oneself a feeling of an omniscient, omnipotent and infinitely […]

It is a function of true understanding to bring back together the dispersed parts of a whole in a coherent context where they become meaningful. Our earthly life is a case in point. As a brief stage in the course of a long and complex journey, it should be carefully reassessed according to this pattern. […]