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APPROACHING ISLAM: Comparative Ethics through Human Rights
Author(s) -
Oh Irene
Publication year - 2008
Publication title -
journal of religious ethics
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.306
H-Index - 20
eISSN - 1467-9795
pISSN - 0384-9694
DOI - 10.1111/j.1467-9795.2008.00354.x
Subject(s) - dialogical self , conversation , islam , nature versus nurture , subject matter , epistemology , human rights , democracy , subject (documents) , toleration , sociology , vision , environmental ethics , objectivism , conscience , law , philosophy , political science , theology , communication , politics , library science , anthropology , computer science , curriculum
A dialogical approach to understanding Islamic ethics rejects objectivist methods in favor of a conversational model in which participants accept each other as rational moral agents. Hans‐Georg Gadamer asserts the importance of agreement upon a subject matter through conversation as a means to gaining insight into other persons and cultures, and Jürgen Habermas stresses the importance of fairness in dialogue. Using human rights as a subject matter for engaging in dialogue with Islamic scholars, Muslim perspectives on issues such as democracy, toleration, and freedom of conscience emerge. A capabilities approach to human rights, such as that developed by Martha Nussbaum, enables the coexistence of multiple religious ethical visions while insisting upon the need to protect and nurture essential human abilities.