Abstract
This chapter introduces the key virtues cultivated and practiced by members of Hizmet movement. On a fundamental level, these virtues define the movement’s aspirational ideals as they inform the lives of its members and their initiatives. It situates this analysis broadly within an Islamic and Aristotelian discussion of the virtues. It outlines how the five pillars of Islam center on the aspiration of Muslims to live virtuous lives in the context of community and lead to a conception of Islam as primarily focused on orthopraxy (right action) rather than orthodoxy (right doctrine). It explores commonalities in the conception of the virtues found in the writings of Aristotle and Gülen and the value of cross-cultural dialogue on the virtues.
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Notes
- 1.
Nussbaum emphasizes that this account provides a basis for critiquing the practices of local traditions which neglect or hinder the development of important virtues (33). In another essay entitled “Internal Criticism and Indian Rationalist Traditions”, Nussbaum stresses the importance of internal criticism of local practices, recognizing the resources within traditions for critical self-examination and reform. As a modernist, Gülen emphasizes the importance of such examination and reform within dynamic, vital traditions which can engage contemporary circumstances and challenges.
- 2.
In “Finely Aware and Richly Responsible’: Moral Attention and the Moral Task of Literature”, Nussbaum provides a detailed analysis of the novelist, Henry James’ understanding of the moral life as bringing persons to be “finely aware and richly responsible”.
References
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Nussbaum, M. (1985). Finely aware and richly responsible: Moral attention and the moral task of literature. Journal of Philosophy, 82(10), 516–529
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Conway, T.D. (2014). The Importance of the Virtues in General and Hospitality in Particular. In: Cross-cultural Dialogue on the Virtues. SpringerBriefs in Religious Studies, vol 1. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-07833-5_2
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-07833-5_2
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