Document Type : Original Article
Author
PhD in Moral Philosophy, Qom University-
Abstract
Saadi’s Gulistan is one of the most prominent literary and ethical texts of the Persian language. The aim of this paper is to examine the reflection of normative ethical theories embedded in the tales of the first chapter of the Gulistan. Unlike previous studies that have primarily focused on moral teachings and individual virtues in Saadi’s works, this study adopts a philosophical perspective to highlight the intersection between literature and moral philosophy, seeking to determine which ethical theory Saadi’s moral advice most closely aligns with. This research is applied in nature and employs both quantitative and qualitative methods for content analysis and classification of the tales. All 41 tales of the chapter were first analyzed according to the frameworks of virtue ethics, consequentialism, and deontology, and were categorized in a comparative table. Subsequently, tales directly related to conflicts between ethical theories were analyzed in detail to identify the value-based and philosophical foundations of the characters’ actions. Guiding questions for each theory provided the criteria for analysis and reasoning regarding consequences, duties, and virtues. The findings indicate that these tales are primarily divided between consequentialism (24 tales) and virtue ethics (18 tales), while 6 tales emphasize deontological reasoning and 7 reflect a combination of ethical theories. The analysis of selected tales in terms of the conflicts and overlaps of moral theories demonstrates that Saadi, in social and political contexts, mainly tends to emphasize the consequences of actions, whereas in matters of personal virtue and moral cultivation, he privileges virtue ethics over consequentialism.
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