Al-Biruni’s Ethical System Compared to Aristotle’s, Which Went to the Arab World

Document Type : Research Paper

Authors

1 Emeritus Professor, Department of Psychology, Gyeongsang National University, Republic of Korea.

2 Professor, Department of Ethics Education, Gyeongsang National University, Republic of Korea

3 Professor, University of Dhaka, Chairman of Abu-Rayhan Al-Biruni Foundation, Dhaka, Bangladesh.

Abstract

This study aims to compare the ethical systems of Aristotle and Al-Biruni. The former was built in the ‘West’, but the latter was on the ‘Middle’ toward the ‘East’. Reviewing their literature and introducing the new concepts, this study found that while Aristotle’s system influenced Al-Biruni’s in the application of a scientific frame to ethical issues, the two systems shared a concern not for the moral judgment but for the moral agent. However, they differ from each other in the conceptualization of the agents. Aristotle’s model is the person of virtue evaluated by the golden mean, but Al-Biruni’s is the person of manliness rated by the reversibility of others. This comparison advanced the differentiation that the moral pragmatic is devoted to Aristotle’s and the moral practical to Al-Bruni’s. The study would contribute to resolving the current moral confusion and would demonstrate a model to integrate the systems of the western and eastern worlds.

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Main Subjects

References

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Journal of Philosophical Investigations
Volume 20, Issue 54 - Serial Number 54
Articles
February 2026
Pages 53-64

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