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Analysis of the Educational Discourse of Akhlaq-i Nasiri (Nasirean Ethics) based on the Discourse Theory of Laclau and Mouffe

Document Type : Original Article

Authors

1 Professor in Persian Language and Literature, Department of Persian Language and Literature, Faculty of Language and Literature, University of Kurdistan, Sanandaj, Iran.

2 PhD in Persian Language and Literature, Department of Persian Language and Literature, Faculty of Language and Literature, University of Kurdistan, Sanandaj, Iran.

10.22080/lpr.2025.28975.1096

Abstract

Akhlaq-i Nasiri (Nasirean Ethics), written by Khwaja Nasir al-Din Tusi during the Ismaili rule at the behest of Nasir al-Din Allah, the ruler of Quhistân, is a work that presents ethical concepts through a scientific-philosophical narrative. The author’s scientific and philosophical mindset, along with the Ismaili governance context, has influenced the presentation of ethical concepts in this book. To analyze the functions of this work, the theoretical framework of Laclau and Mouffe’s discourse analysis was used. The research results show that Akhlaq-i Nasiri, with its political and ideological functions, directs ethics in favor of the ruler and the control of the masses by the Ismaili agent, while rejecting and despising the Abbasid caliphs for lacking these qualities. The central signifier of the discourse in this work is based on the principle of the Ismaili agent’s imamate. Despite the superficial refinement of the preface’s praises and Ismaili terms, the deep structure of the book still legitimizes the Ismaili agent and is articulated and emphasized with the secondary discourse signifiers of reason, humanity, and mysticism. By articulating imamate and education, Khwaja legitimizes the necessity of the Ismaili agent’s existence and delegitimizes others. The legitimization of the Ismaili agent gives the discourse of the work a propagandistic status, making it a disseminator of the ruling agent’s ideology.

Keywords

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Literary-philosophical researches
Volume 3, Issue 2 - Serial Number 6
March 2026
Pages 95-117
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