Abstract:
The current Cyber-ethics in Western societies (and its followers in other societies) have been compiled based on secularist presupposition. This presupposition has different principles in comparison with the Islamic attitude which can lead one to take a different approach toward ethical problems. This paper is an attempt to propose principles of Islamic cyber-ethics upon which we can prepare answers for the problems of cyber-ethics, having evident characteristics of an Islamic approach that are distinguished from secularist answers. After a prefatory study on the background of the Islamic attitude to ethics, these characteristics will be propounded under four categories: fundamental and content components, spiritual components, legal components, and penal components. Under these categories, themes such as giving importance to agent goodness, the basic difference in one’s goal of living an ethical life, the relation of reason and revelation, and the basis for the legitimacy of the penal justice system will be discussed. Needless to say, this paper does not seek to prepare arguments for this model, and such arguments can be discussed in other philosophical investigations.
Machine summary:
Under these categories, themes such as giving importance to agent goodness, the basic difference in one’s goal of living an ethical life, the relation of reason and revelation, and the basis for the legitimacy of the penal justice system will be discussed.
Despite obligation- oriented philosophies of ethics, the order governing technological ethics (in general terms and ethics of virtual space in particular) is under the influence of the results derived from a moral deportment and evaluation of the good and evil nature of an action predicated on practical criteria and convivial and individual gains and losses.
Goodness in ethical actions is intrinsic but due to restrictions of human reason man is in need of divine revelation in order to designate its limits.
From an Islamic point of view, ethics in virtual space should be heeded, as religion is not the basis for an action to be good or bad.
Since in the Islamic world view man’s most consequential goal in life is proximity to God, firstly, the administrators of virtual space ought to perform all ethical acts with the intention of attaining God’s gratification (Mutahhari, 1362, p.
To discern a special act being ethical in virtual space, one should have an evaluation of the results that should consider both the individual’s comfort and welfare as well as pay attention to his/her spiritual growth.
In the Islamic perspective to ethics in virtual space, the world is viewed as the most important ground for man’s spiritual elevation.