Ethics: “Ethical” or “Moral” Thought and Decision Making

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Ethics: “Ethical” or “Moral” Thought and Decision Making

Ethics: “Ethical” or “Moral” Thought and Decision Making

Author:
Publisher: Princeton
English

This book is corrected and edited by Al-Hassanain (p) Institue for Islamic Heritage and Thought

4. Psychology of ethical behavior

4.1. Conflict resolution.

The psychology of ethical behavior is rather basic in healthy individuals facing single-issue situations. The combination of natural and learned responses guides them. Behavior can be modified through additional learning, and also from personal thought (including intuition) and societal pressures. (The subject of learning of ethical behavior has been discussed in detail in Chapter 3. on Brain Physiology).

The situation becomes more complicated when several issues are involved at the same time, as the interest of different parties (including oneself), or different value dimensions (e.g. compassion and honor). Usually, an attempt is made to compromise. The degree of compromise is given by the relative ranking of the different issues or values in the individual’s mind at the given time. Here, natural and learned responses may be in conflict and value ranking may be influenced by learning or personal thought.

4.2. Focus, activism, and obsession.

Some unique psychological effects occur when ethical thought or certain ethical issues have exceptional importance in an individual’s mind (possibly based on variations in brain structure, body chemistry, or learning as indicated in the previous chapter). In the milder form, self-righteousness and pride can occur in the positive, or increasing feelings of guilt or allocation of guilt in the negative. Some developments in Jewish and Christian thought point in that direction (a world divided into spheres of self-righteousness and guilt). In the extreme, self-righteousness and pride can become as dangerous as feelings of guilt or allocation of guilt to others. Whole societies can move in such directions. As in most cases of extreme focus fixation, the human mind does not admit an alternative focus and closes itself against alternative views.

As shown elsewhere, thought follows focus, supported by selective observation. If relaxation does not work, then only the introduction of a new focus, through learning or experience, can resolve the pursuit of an existing focus. In some cases, such learning or experience must be traumatic to have effect. In some cases, even traumatic experiences are selectively evaluated as supporting the given focus. History is full of such examples, and new ones are occurring in our times.

Saints and “do-gooders” present another form of elevated ethical behavior. Both are well accepted when pursuing one’s own values, religion, and interests. They are seen in a more critical light when pursuing foreign religions or negatively valued issues. It is typical for saints and do-gooders to actively proselytize and to condemn people who are not supportive or are critical.

A further increase in ethical emphasis leads to being an “activist” who sacrifices his own resources for his cause. The activist of one’s own conviction is a hero. The activist of opposed values is a dangerously unbalanced threat. Activists can have an exhibitionist urge to present themselves and their cause, even in suffering.

In the extreme, ethical pursuits approach obsession. Obsession is possibly mankind’s most devastating mental affliction, whether in the form of religious, political, nationalistic, or racist obsession and persecution. Often, the secondarily arising counterforces are equally obsessed and devastating. Obsession occurs when a single focus totally dominates thought to the point of not permitting value balancing any longer. Some individuals are prone to fall into obsessions. Others are obsessed as from a spasm and can return to balanced thought once the spasm is resolved. In religious and political obsessions, only elimination of the lead figure can possibly resolve the obsessionary movement (unless a successor appears). Persecution of such movements intensifies the obsession (but acceptance does not resolve it either). A follower of an obsession may lose the obsession after lengthy separation, relaxation, and exposure to an alternative mental focus.

4.3. Natural behavior, historic development, and retarding aspects in ethics.

As indicated earlier (Chapter 2. Evolutionary Biology), the psychology of ethics can be roughly associated with the three natural categories of:

Caring for and defense of not only offspring, but for those individuals who are next of kin,

inversely proportional to genetic distance, with a tilt forward in the generation sequence.

Reciprocity

in services (as in grooming)

in food sharing

in assistance in fighting

Loyalty to the group, to the point of self-sacrifice

As pointed out elsewhere (Chapter 3. Brain Physiology), associative learning or personal thought can bring an individual to accept a newly introduced individual as being next of kin with consequent caring for that individual. Christian teaching attempts to do that. The historic growth of structures of societies has accomplished or was facilitated by this (from family units to towns, nations, and continents as in Europe). However, if reciprocity is lacking, this caring may disappear. If advantage is taken of the situation, caring may revert into hostility. This is an important consideration in America’s struggle for ethnic harmony.

It is very “natural” that people care for their families first and their own ethnic groups next (whether Catholic Irish, Afro-American, Jewish, or Chinese). They may be praised as heroes by their own groups for such caring. This relates back to historical times when social structure was on a smaller scale and groups where set against each other. It is not sufficient in our times, not ethically “good” enough, because it is retarding the development of a harmonious larger society, whether in the United States or on a global level. In this development, it may be counterproductive if certain ethnic groups seek or achieve advantages for themselves (or their home countries) at the expense of others. However, striving for individual equal opportunity, fairness, and, where indicated, help to the weak, is certainly ethically indicated. Ethical advances by one group towards the other have to be reciprocated reliably. Domination and exploitation of other groups has to be avoided by all those groups who want to be part of that harmony. More thinking and learning has to be done.

4.4. Ethics in organizations.

Something should be said about the behavior of individuals as members of organizations. Industrial organizations and practical interest groups are not “ethical” in the human sense. They exist to maximize benefit for the participants. Competition ascertains that no resources are squandered on anything else. Employees who do not perform must be fired. Consequently, individuals play the roles that they perceive as being expected of them. Even humanly “warm” individuals will attempt to play a “tough” role in a business context. This may be a totally different role from the one they play when not working for the organization. Even an otherwise “ethical” president and CEO are severely restrained in what he can have his organization do in ethical terms. Only the law (and threat of punishment or image loss) or perceived benefits from public relations can ascertain desired ethical responses by people identifying themselves with organizations. The recent testimony of tobacco executives to the non-addictiveness of nicotine were sad examples. Only a few individuals have a sufficiently sovereign personality and enough self-assurance to carry their own ethical convictions into their business world beyond organizational pressures. However, there are both older and newer American and European corporations that address a surprising amount of human concerns. This often perpetuates an owner’s or founder’s philosophy.

5. Philosophy

5.1. The historic roots of ethical thought.

In the East, philosophy evolved in conjunction with religious thought or as part of wisdom teaching and literature. The Vedas (ca 1500 BC) attempted to dissolve the conflict between religious teaching and rational thought by personifying truth and reality as gods. Knowledge of the universe was expected to yield ethical truth. Who can hope for any better approach, if valid results can be expected? The Vedic approach through “enlightenment” with the results then propagated by the Veda do not satisfy modern intellectual thought and, in some regards, Western culture (e.g. the conclusion of the Upanisads resulting in the caste system). In the West, however, the shaken trust in science as a guide towards a better world and Darwinian observations of nature (and the Book of Job) let us equally hesitate to use the understanding of the world as a guide for human ethics. Only the belief in a new phase of Creation with the emergence of ethical values can overcome this problem. But then, the observation of the prior phases of nature does not help any longer.

Another result of Vedic thinking, leading from non-violence to Janaism and to Buddha’s teaching, is a more important forerunner of modern ethical thought. While Buddha refused to follow abstract theological speculation, he did preach compassion and brotherhood (around 500 BC). Was there a connection to the Essenes and Galilee via the trade routes?

In China, the two great philosophers, Lao-tse and Confucius, related to ethics only in passing -- the one in pursuing inner peace, the other in attempting to create an orderly society. Thus, kindness to adversaries (in Taoism) and caring for the elderly and poor (in Confucianism) appear in rather practical terms, without religious or analytical deduction. Yet, those thoughts seem to indicate a commonality of human ethical needs, rather than an unbridgeable diversity between cultures as in so many other practical rules of behavior and value judgment. Confucius, when asked about the essence of his ethical thoughts, formulated much the same as Biblical teaching: “What you do not want done to yourself, do not do to others”. Mencius, about one hundred years after Confucius, postulated a natural base for the human desire to do right and to be good. Hsün-tse, however, postulated later that only education makes humans good -- they are by nature bad and selfish.

In the West, the Greeks introduced the search for intellectual truth as an independent, secular endeavour of the mind. The questions of the absolute or relative value of “right” and “wrong” and the mysteries of conscience were already discussed in their times. All this was swept away with the Dark Ages and the dominance of religious fervor in the early Middle Ages. Scholastic thought reintroduced a degree of intellectual inquiry, also in matters of ethics, establishing this inquiry as a separate discipline of philosophy.

5.2. The structure of ethical inquiry.

Further development resulted in the subdivision of three branches of ethics: Normative ethics, applied ethics and meta-ethics,

Attempts to establish absolutely valid ethical values as facts of nature or creation, almost provable and measurable as the facts in the natural sciences, have failed. Ethics has remained an inquiry into values that “should” be valid, that should be accepted, for whatever the various reasons might be. This is the field of “normative ethics”.

There was an immediate second-level question in this pursuit. Should one judge an action solely by its results (the teleological, consequentialist approach) or are there ethical norms one has to follow in arriving at the results (the deontological position). Can one steal from the rich in order to save a starving child? Can one bomb enemy civilians in order to save one’s own country? Can one evict an ethnic group in order to make room for one’s own ethnic group, under whatever historic pretext? Can one violate any of the Ten Commandments or other ethical rules in order to arrive at some more important ethical results? Can one, out of compassion, help another to break US immigration laws? There is no consensus in answering these questions. Many situations are in a gray zone, where black or white would be easy to judge, but an often necessary compromise is left to personal judgment.

“Applied ethics” is specifically the undertaking to apply ethical theory to practical problems, whether in areas of professional ethics, civil rights, abortion, gene technology or any other of our modern concerns. Needless to say, there is seldom a consensus in the resolution of those questions. The personal focus is often provided by emotion. Subsequently, focused selective observation and selective argumentation put the intellectual exercise into the service of the original emotion. Therefore, rationality alone does not solve complex emotional problems. One would first have to know how to sort out contradictory emotions and priorities. Furthermore, one does not deal only with individual situations but with cultural value trends in society. The entertainment industry and the media play an important role in these developments.

Meta-ethics is concerned with the clarification of the base of ethics (as in reason or emotions) and the validity of ethical concepts (even specific words), and statements. This ties into the analysis of thought as a natural or metaphysical phenomenon and into some normative questions as to whether ethical statements can be universally valid, or have to be seen in relation to individual and cultural circumstances.

5.3. The development of ethical thought in history.

Historically, the origin of formulated ethical rules was presented to the people by the priests and the rulers of their times as a gift and directive by the gods. Interestingly, there was little distinction between administrative, criminal, civil, and ethical laws. Since then, ethics has remained a mainstay of religious thought and teaching, mostly derived from a single historical canon or scripture, not from an evolving study or understanding of God, or some other transcendent essence of creation. However, the diversity in religious teachings of ethics leaves the individual with either: a personal decision of “faith”; the requirement for complex inquiry into a personal selection of standards; a chance following of the surrounding laws and habits; or with getting away with anything while not being caught.

The Ten Commandments are little more than the basic rules for civil order in a balanced community, not referring to emotional “values” such as fairness and compassion (except by later forced exegetic interpretation). The Golden Rule, “Love thy neighbor as thyself” (with the fine distinctions of being worded either positively or negatively), without exegetic amplification, is not much more than the original natural rule of reciprocity. However, the code of Hammurabi and early Egyptian hieroglyphs already contain elements of fairness and compassion, without any religious or philosophical explanation. This is important to notice since our thinking sees criminal and civil laws not resting in themselves, but rather as an outgrowth of deeper ethical principles, which require prior thought and formulation. These ethical principles generally relate to fairness and compassion, if not Christian “love”, restrained by practicality.

Plato questioned the divine arbitrariness in issuing moral directives and postulated absolutely valid norms in nature. He began and pursued the intellectual search for these norms. (Actually, the Sophists and Socrates thought about the relativity or validity of ethical values before). Only a couple of hundred years later, Christ, rooted in the great Jewish prophetic tradition, presented a new holistic interpretation of God, the rules for human life, and the directive for inter-human relations based on “love” (the Greek “agape”, not “eros”), an ethical emotion, thereby tying ethics further to religion. Both pursuits of ethics became intertwined in European and American development of thought. The intellectual direction, more result oriented, tended to favor ethical goals that would bring the greatest benefit to the largest number of people. The emotional direction generally favored individual goodness over reaching results. Yet, both directions and any of their combinations allowed for horrendous aberrations, as in religious wars, the inquisition, or the crimes of Himmler under the “national-socialist workers party” and Kaganovich under the “communist workers and peasants party”. On the other side, it is thanks to a favorable combination of reason and emotions that the US Constitution, the Bill of Rights, and the Geneva Conventions came to be developed and generally appreciated.

In a more detailed observation of the historic development of “ethics” as a division of Philosophy, it is amazing to see the circuitous route of ever-new schools of thought following each other.

Plato formalized the contradiction between the Sophist’s relativistic position and Socrates’ belief in an ultimately existing valid “idea” of goodness, and proceeded with the inquiry into the latter. He formulated that being good adds to personal happiness. But even Plato saw the contradictions between rationality, emotions, and bodily desires and accepted the notion of compensation in the next life for god-pleasing behavior in this life. Aristotle, while being preoccupied with the supremacy of reason, postulated that a thorough understanding of human nature would reveal what makes a good human being, somewhat akin to the Vedic position. An analysis of human virtues led him to propose the Golden Mean between extremes of too much or too little (e.g. courage between cowardice and foolhardiness), not unlike Buddha’s Middle Path. The later Stoics postulated that reason leads to wisdom and virtue, rejecting passion, unaffected by the course of life, permitting the path of suicide if necessary. Since all humans share the capacity for reason, and since one should primarily seek the company of rational beings, all humans can be seen as common citizens of the world, resulting in a global moral law (thereby rejecting relativism).

The discussion of Greek and Roman ethics was centered on the validity of ethical laws and the process of inquiry. However, the definition of a proposed code of ethics and practical methods of implementation were not sufficiently pursued (not going much beyond the reciprocal Golden Rule). Questions important to our times, such as fairness in business, integrity in government, compassion in social matters, were not defined or seen as paramount virtues. As in our times, the Greeks and Romans saw virtues related to individual behavior. However, relations between groups or between city-states appear to have been little controlled by ethics (as in our business and international world). There were extensive class wars between the plebeians and the wealthy nobility ravaging the Greek cities. Athens was accused of taking advantage of its allies and treated opposing cities quite cruelly. There were wars between cities, culminating into the Peloponnesian War.

Christianism regarded all human beings as children of God, hence of equal value. This led to the abolition of abortion, slavery, and suicide, (but not of killing enemies in a “just” war!). Faith now dominated reason and the new virtues were Christian “love” (“agape”) as in peace-making, a clean heart, meekness, and suffering from injustice. While this change from the antique thinking was seen by some as an exercise in relativity of ethics, the believer saw it as finally having found the true base of all human ethics.

The intellectual discussion of ethics resumed only with the Scholastics in the 12th century (Abelard). Aquinas, based on the Aristotelian texts rediscovered at that time (by way of the Arab and Jewish thinkers in the Arab world), attempted to reconcile Christian doctrine with Aristotle. While stipulating the love of God as the highest goal and leading to heaven, Aquinas saw virtue as the base of limited happiness here on Earth. The notion of “natural law” can be traced to Aquinas. Thereby, right is what corresponds to the human nature and is suitable to the purpose of human existence (e.g. homosexuality, contraception, and abortion are unnatural and, therefore, wrong).

The Vedas, Plato, and Aquinas searched for ethical clarification in the understanding of nature (or human nature). This approach was possible only before Wallace and Darwin. Since then, our view of nature makes us shudder, thinking that mankind could one day again accept a code of ethics based on the struggle for prevailing and preferential propagation. We still very much belong to the more basic nature as our national internal conflicts and some sad international conflicts prove every day. The population explosion threatens again all of us. However, we hope that humans strive for something different. We hope that we have the potential for a more “ethical” life, unprecedented and little observable in nature.

With the Renaissance (and with Protestantism weakening the dominance of the Roman church), the human world began to be looked at independently of theology. Humanism began. A totally sophistic Machiavelli could be published (Il Principe, 1513). Diversity of religious thought surfaced. Thomas Hobbes was the first to present a new, humanistic concept of morality (the Laviathan, 1651). From there, a sequence of moral philosophers arose in England and Scotland, independent of the development in continental Europe.

Hobbes saw self-pleasure, individually different from one individual to another, as the only motivation of man, including the pleasure derived from making other people happy. A rationally derived “social contract” allows people to live together in society by establishing a sovereign (in whatever format) to maintain peace and security.

In opposition, the following “intuitionist” postulated that an absolute, generally valid truth in ethics can be found through rational intuition, somewhat like Plato’s ideas (Cudworth, More, Clarke). Some results where the demand for maximizing the benefit for the most as the most ethical strategy, and the reformulation of the Golden Rule based not on love, but on what is “judged reasonable”.

In questioning the centrality of personal pleasure and rationalism, the “moral sense” school of thought postulated that man also possesses natural altruism as expressed in compassion, generosity, and dedication to the public interest. This “moral sense” of virtue is opposed to selfish desires (Shaftesbury). These virtues rank higher than the fulfillment of desires in an enlightened pursuit of happiness. Butler, as a forerunner of Kant, introduced the concept of conscience as a more important moral guide than enlightened self-interest. In the 18th century, Hutcheson reiterated the significance of “moral sense” (used to define conscience) and the ethical objective to maximize happiness for the most.

David Hume (1711-1776) warned that reason is too often the servant of our desires. Thus, morality results from the proper desires and feelings. However, there is the dilemma that feelings vary between individuals. Hume also postulated that morality be practical, by resulting in action.

Hume also pointed out, in what is now called “Hume’s Law”, that the transition between observation of what is and the postulation what therefore should be is often made too easily, reflecting too easily the inner disposition or prejudice. In our times, it is not so much the study of nature but the study of history, which is mandated to teach ethics and prevent future catastrophes. But one should not forget that Marx arrived at Communism from his study of history, and Hitler arrived at anti-Semitism from his distorted observations.

For the British philosophers, Hume left the dilemma that one cannot know what to do by simply observing feelings about right or wrong (who’s?). The three-sided argument between “intuitionists” (that ethical truth can be found through intuition by reason), the “moral sense” school (that feelings and conscience can guide man), and Humes Law (that you cannot just observe reality to know what is right for whom) remained unresolved.

With “utilitarianism” (Bentham, 1748-1832), the discussion turned toward asking what actions would be ethical -- an approach of normative ethics. Again, the conclusion was that ethics meant maximizing “pleasure” and reducing “pain” for all concerned, including slaves and animals. Later, a qualitative ranking of pleasures and pains was introduced (by Mill, 1861). Sidgwick (1838-1900) investigated what was commonly being accepted as ethical, pointing out conflicts between various moral principles. The conflict between selfishness and interest for the common good appeared rationally insurmountable to him. The British sequence of philosophers concluded with Sidgwick’s statement that a rational approach to morality would not work.

On the European continent, after Erasmus (1466-1536), Spinoza 1632-1677) became the most important moral philosopher. In contrast to Hobbes (who lived at the same time), Spinoza postulated that natural desires are a burden on the freedom of the mind and, therefore, must be controlled by reason. He perceived a positive essence in all mankind due to its participation in a pantheist world. Thus, reason is not the servant of desires (Hume), but their master. Leibniz (1646-17-16) continued rationalist thought mixed with religious fervor.

Rousseau (1712-1778) depicted the ideal of the “noble savage”, who became corrupted by possession of land and material goods. He proposed to recapture the ideal state through a rule of society by “general will”. This could be found in following reason rather than personal desires, thereby leading to a civilized society.

Kant (1724-1804) followed Spinoza’s and Rousseau’s expectation of a common good. He postulated that only those actions, which are taken to do what is good in fulfilling moral “duty” (and not merely to reach personal happiness or in following benevolent feelings), possess ethical value. While the “hypothetical imperative” tells you to be good for some personal reason (your own happiness, recognition, compensation in heaven), the “categorical imperative” tells you to do what is good, equally valid to all people, irrespective of any personal feelings or expectations. The moral law, to be found by reason, he formulated as: “Act such that the maxim of your action could be the base for a general law”. Further thought about deriving specific decisions from the “categorical imperative” ran into contradictory examples. Further thought about the ultimate motivation for following the “categorical imperative” ran into the same old cycle between reason and emotions. In normative questions, Kant took position against a teleological valuation of actions (only by their results, consequentialist approach) and in favor of a deontological position (in that one has to follow ethical norms in arriving at conclusions).

Hegel (1770-1831), influenced by Schiller, developed a concept that history shows a development toward freedom of the mind, overcoming the division between conscience and self-interest, between reason and feelings, arriving at harmonious communal life. As human nature is formed by the society in which one lives, those desires will then be brought forth that are in the interest of society (a forerunner of communist education attempts). Individuals would then feel as parts of the community. Thus, the conflict between morality and self-interest is a problem of inadequate societies. Moral actions are those that fulfill one’s position and task in society (worker, administrator, merchant, etc.).

Marx (1880-1883), a student of Hegel, explained all ideas, whether religious or ethical, as a result of the economic stage a society had reached in its historic development. Thus, loyalty and obedience were ethical values of feudalism. Freedom became an expression of capitalism. Thereby, Marx returned to some thoughts of the Greek sophists before Plato indicating that those in power determine the laws. In the Communist Manifesto he described morality, law, and religion as bourgeois prejudices while, at the same time, lecturing in moralistic terms about the misery of the capitalist system. Engels (1820-1895) was a co-author of the “Manifesto” and of the “Kapital”.

Modern philosophers reverted to a concept of relative ethics, based on the conditions of an individual’s existence. Existentialism, thoroughly atheist, denied any purpose in human existence and, hence, any universally valid ethical standards. However, the horrors of WWII, the Holocaust, and the Nuremberg trials led again to the call for a common base in ethics for all people. At one time, the United Nations attempted to draft a code of ethics for international corporations operating in the Third World. Meanwhile, the philosopher’s argumentation about relativity or possible universality of moral values, of emotions and desires or the use of rational thinking in ethical inquiry continue unabated, 2400 years after the Sophists and Plato.

A new perspective of thought came from evolutionary biology. Edward O. Wilson’s “New Synthesis” (1975) and “On Human Nature” (1978) suggested that Darwinian evolutionary biology favors certain values leading to the propagation of genetic substance. He also postulated that nature justifies universal human rights. Other philosophers after Wilson deducted a justification of human inequality. However, one is reminded of Hume’s Law -- that the translations from observations to normative statements reflect the translators’ own prejudices.

In the recent focus on normative ethics, the dichotomy between consequentialist concepts (judging ethical actions by their consequences) and deontological concepts (requiring ethical actions to follow ethical rules) appear in the foreground again. Our system of law is largely deontological in judging behavior and not consequences (e.g. condemning the stealing from the rich to give to the poor). However, our governments, with their secret service and military operations, are largely consequentialists. In deontological ethics, there is the additional problem of conflicting ethical obligations (e.g. in the application of disposable resources or in telling the truth vs. not hurting a person by one’s statements).

Utilitarian consequentialism sees the goal of all ethical actions in optimizing the universal balance of pleasure and pain (the most pleasure for the most people) or, in different wording, to optimize the satisfaction of preferences, or what the preferences would be if people were fully informed. Rule-Utilitarianism would apply the consequentialist judgment to the application of any ethical rule (thus disallowing stealing from the rich to give to the poor, since general stealing would destroy society). Thereby, Rule-Utilitarianism unites consequential and deontological thinking. Simple Utilitarianism would eliminate the protection of the weak and of minorities. The Maximin theory assumes that if people do not know where they or their family members will end up in life, they will not attempt to maximize benefit for the most, but to minimize disadvantage for the least fortunate in society, a theory applied to our welfare state.

This leads to the common discussion of and appeal to basic rights of individuals within the society, as those in the US Bill of Rights (the first ten amendments to the US Constitution). The question arises immediately whether rights should be based on and can be questioned by ethical judgment, or are “absolute” rights (e.g. whether the right to life, liberty, and pursuit of happiness is limited or unlimited). In the latter case, ethical judgment must be derived from those rights. Obviously, there are some limits somewhere. This leads to the attempted definition of basic (and vague) principles of ethics such as justice, equal respect, and concern for all individuals in society. This also leads to the postulation of basic natural goods (e.g. life), in continuation of the natural law ethics of Aquinas and the Catholic Church. Also here, limitations arise out of conflicting situations.

Unrelated to all philosophical thought, ethics has found an interesting supplement in the teaching of the Theory of Games to the business community -- an approach to optimizing economic benefit. A number of situations in this Macchiavellian art are not unlike the age-old approach to ethics by reason.

The millennia of inquiry into meta-ethics and normative ethics may appear quite ineffective. Yet, applied ethics was pursued vigorously at all times, partially because each new philosopher thought he had found the answer to the philosophical riddle and could teach the world. Therefore, no consistent code of ethics resulted from these efforts (except those based on a single doctrine or belief at any one time).

5.4. Ethics and larger issues of society and nature.

In our times, ethics no longer applies to individual behavior only. A number of larger issues of society and nature are also seen in an ethical perspective.

The American Civil Rights Movement became a specific issue for the intellectual discussion of applied ethics in equality, human rights, and justice. While the condemnation of racial discrimination was universal, reverse discrimination is still an item of discussion in our times.

The abolition of gender discrimination led to the still-open question of the role of the mother and, consequently, gender differences. The discovery (or confirmation) of physiological gender differences in the brain will extend and exacerbate this discussion.

The beginning understanding of brain physiology contributes to the discussion about ethics versus animals. However, the ethical aspect of environmental protection, of stewardship of nature, has not proceeded beyond utilitarian concepts for humanity.

The issues of nuclear armament, just wars, population control, immigration (legal and illegal), abortion, euthanasia, bio-ethics, genetic engineering, rationing of medical resources, and other issues of ethics in medicine, public policy, and global cooperation rise and fade in the attention of the public and of moral philosophers, their resolution remaining elusive.

8- The Responsibility of Good Manners and Morals:

Being the fact that a youth has a bigger heart, pure nature and higher ability to change from negative to positive, the responsibility of good manners and morals is big and heavy on his shoulders. This is because of Allah's favor towards him.

He is responsible for propagating and spreadingvirutes . Honestyperfomed by everyone is good, but it will be morebeter when it is done by a young man; being patient with others is good, but when it is done by a youth, it is a miracle. Humbleness from a youth is dignity; likewise, kindness is a flower for them. Chastity from them has its decoration; likewise, calmness from a youth that was upset, by some feeling, is good.Brotherhood between youths has its spiritual good and attraction. Their love for good is an indicator of goodness and, likewise, piety is an indicator of firm belief…the more a youth takes hold of morality, the more life will be good and sound.

Indeed, people look at young boys and girls who are well mannered with Islamic morals, with great respect and dignity. Mostly, they used to point at them saying: Look at his/her chastity,faith and righteousness.

And , as a young man, through his pure nature, hates injustice, cheating and many social and political appearances. Therefore, his responsibility comes from his feeling the necessity to establish right and revoke wrong. Therefore, among the moral responsibilities of a youth are: fighting sins and other evils like; lying, backbiting, hypocrisy, disrespecting parents, mockery, humiliating neighbors, pride, arrogance, treason and others. Inaddition of the fact that it is a religious responsibility, it is a social responsibility, too. A youth is worthier thanothers in honoring the elders and respecting the pre-generations even though there are differences of time and approaches. Thus, it is his/her responsibility to have a firm relation and discussion with them, as well as, respecting their experiences: “He is not among us who doesn't have mercy on smaller ones and respect the elders.”

The responsibility of manners requires the youth not to be a block…

As youth, we can work collectively in order to put forward this responsibility,and also to work together with others in order to fight the dangerous evil manners that are decomposed in the social circle. We should be a model of refraining against the act of evil, talking to those who are practicing it in the best way; maybe they will fear Allah and change. Among the moral responsibilities that are important to the youth are fighting the view that the relationship between people must only be material. They have distorted the feeling of love for Allah's sake. Many a time they have destroyed the relationship that is based on tolerance,guidance and sacrifice; turning all these into a source of business.

Among the descending views are: “If you have money, you are something, if not, you are nothing” or “Be like a wolf, and if not, you will be eaten by wolves” and “Make no drop of water fall if I die thirsty” can never be confronted unless by the determination of a youth who feels his social responsibility; who should work hard to correct and change the distorted image of the youth, step by step.

9-Social Responsibility:

As a youth, you are interrelated with the society around you by different chains of relationship: Relationship with parents, family and neighbors, relationships with brothers, friends and companions, and, likewise, the relationship with general people.

Regarding the relation with parents, family and other relatives…you are responsible for doing good to parents and respecting them (Thy Lord hath decreed that ye worship none but Him, and that ye be kind to parents) (Holy Qur'an: 17: 23). This is to say, you must refrain from saying 'a word of contempt' to them, or repelling them and nor hurting them with bad words or actions (accompany them in this world with justice and consideration) (Holy Qur'an: 31:15). And youshould, also, work according to your ability to make them understand your great love towards them, and appreciating their favor on you and your needs toward them in difficult situations. This creates a fatherly atmosphere that will make them feel thathowever you get older and however they get older, having contact with them satisfies a psychological need of you and them, too.

Regardig the relation with the members of the family, you are responsible for respecting the elders and sympathizing with the smaller ones. This will create aspchological rest for all and increases love and affection among them. As you are responsible - in the field of distributinghouseworks - for doing your work assigned to you based on your ability and time, an, here, we should not forget that the best deed is the one which is done voluntarily. However, being related to a respected family amongpeople, makes you have the responsibility of safeguarding its good and pure reputation by not doing something which may destroy or hurts their reputation.

But the relation with brothers, friends and companions, you are responsible for building it on the basis of faith:: (The true believers are but a single brotherhood) (Holy Qur'an: 49:10), so that you may benefit from their companionship and,alos , they benefit from yours, both in this world and the hereafter.And, also, you are responsible for reforming the gap created between your close brothers (and keep straight the relations between yourself) (Holy Qur'an: 8:1). Youshould, also, be their mirror in which they see the beauty of theirbehaviour and its evilness. It is narrated in ahadith that a true brother, on whom youtrusy , is the one who tells you your faults, and that “A believer is a mirror of his fellow believer.” We can widen our understanding of the Prophetic saying “Ask for a companion before (asking for a) way”, that it is not only at the time of traveling, rather even in day-to-day activities. This is because a friendis attached to his friend.

As you are responsible for your family and friends, you are, also, responsible for the people surrounding you in yourbehaviour with them, rendering them a service, reducing their suffering, cooperating with them in doing good that benefits the whole society “The close ones are worthier in goodness.” The spirit of a youth may grow further based on his social activities and faith in helping others.

You can feel good and enjoyment while helping your close relatives, but the enjoyment will increase more when you help those who are not close to you. This is because you will feel that you are out of your limited circle in amore wider one discharging all goods. Itis reported in onehadith : “The best of people is the one who benefits others.”

Surely, the way of building a firm social relationship requires us, as a youth, to know the factors that strengthen such relationship,and, also, what are things that harm and weaken it?And what are its positive effects?Knowing others' rights and respecting them - whether he is a father, mother, friend, close relation and or others - make you a source of their respect, thanks and good will prayers…who knows whether your kindness to him will pour Allah's mercy on you “All creatures are Allah's household, and the best among them is the one who is good to hisfamilys .”

10- Financial Responsibility:

Bythis we mean your responsibility, as a youth, in directing spending and consumption. Indeed, the material outlook has spread and become a wider phenomenon among our youth, boys and girls, to the extent that it makes them spend much on their unnecessary needs and, even sometimes, it may result into extravagancy.

No doubt giving much consideration to physical beauty is good, but having an exaggeration in it such as filling the drawers with so many clothes that one cannot wear, except once or twice and then, leaves it is something of no importance, instead we should spent on necessary things. The youth are responsible for exhorting others towards the 'Culture of Consumption' brought by the mass media based on people's feelings, but, it is necessary to warn people against becoming the victim of a company's advertisement which many time is out of reality.

Economical responsibility, also, requires the youth totake another look into being a tool of hard work till he finishes his studies. Making use of the summer holiday in doing other beneficial things helps a lot, both in experience and getting some money in paying some of their needs. It is a mistake to stay without doing any worktill we graduate from the university, because the course we attend will help us in paving the way for us in doing better and getting much experience.

A group of youth with equal or one opinion can come together and require that a certain amount of money, as a loan in order to start a business even a small venture, will help them at the time of marriage or getting a house to start their new life.

And , likewise, they can require to use a certain plot of land in order to build a town or village for the purpose of living there or developing it, but the cost may come from certain people. Maybe it will be difficult due to other social problems, but with all these, there is the possibility that many locked doors might be opened through it, if not,all our request is meant at least some might be accepted. It has been said: “No right will be lost if it is requested,” and that “Rights are taken and not given”. The economical responsibility requires that a youth who has some wealth to help others, most especially his fellow youth, in solving their problems.

11- Political and the Media's Responsibility:

A PropheticHadith says: “Whoever wakes up without giving much consideration to the Muslim's affairs is not a Muslim.”

This is a wider call toward giving much importance to the Muslim's affairs, wherever they might be. This consideration is not only achieved in feeling pain for their sufferings nor becoming happy with their happiness, rather it includes anything that can make their spiritual and material life better: “The example of Muslims in their love and mercy is like that of a body that can be sick sharing the sickness with other parts.” This social Islamic membership in love,affection and mercy will not allow the hand to say: “Well, I am ok so the pain of the other body doesn't concern me.” It will not allow the eyes to say: “There is nothing to bother me since it is the leg that is suffering”, no it is not like this. The relationship is such that it will have effect on every part of the body.

Based on this, the principle of enjoining good and prohibiting evil is not only limited in calling toward moral reform and fighting social evils, rather, it comprises our responsibility, as Muslims, in making a stand in the whole issue of reform and all evils. We must reform all evils using different methods and abilities, as well as, encouraging the reformed one in order for him to be firm on his stand. Here, we can forward this question to ourselves: Tell me what is your least stand…because a youth who doesn't have a stand is just like a feather in the air; it is not stable rather, it is the air that leads it to every evil and misguidance.

If this young fellow, who is sacrificing his life for the purpose of rescuing his people from the injustice of an unjust ruler in a limited andselffish way thinks and says: It has nothing to do with what belongs to people, no people have been liberated nor any force of darkness has been defeated.

If you kept quite in seeking justice and refrain from defending the rights of the oppressed, you are helping injustice indirectly. Itis said : “Whoever keeps quite against injustice is a worse devil.”

Whatwas called the 'Political Road' contains a large number of youth; a political responsibility requires that the youth must have a say in all affairs. Many a time, the participation of the youth in demonstrations and protests changed the path and he movement here and there. Indeed, your sound is your responsibility…have you not seen how it can help if you give it to a wrong or unjust path? Then, why do not you give it to justice,right and freedom? Are not you a Muslim who is responsible for fighting oppressors and helping the oppressed? “Be harsh to the oppressor and a helper to the oppressed.”

Maybe sanctioning the goods of the occupiers (like the Zionist) cannot be effective on their economy, but it is a great stand…it represents the culture of presence, because sanctions here and there can make the effect wider and harm the enemy more. Therefore, the way of discharging political responsibility follows different channels: One is (consciousness) and a political awareness on what is going on here and there that includes planning, slogans, conferences and other movements both domestic and international.

Then (political presence) in the sense that the youth might have their own opinion in their society's affairs both the present one and the future ones, being a part that can never be separated from the society. A political writer has said: “Retiring from public activities by an Arab is a disaster for thesociety .”

Also , political responsibility calls us toward purifying political activities from lying, controversy, playing with slogans and treason. That is, we must work in order to give politics its moral being. We should not regard depending on forbidden evil as a way to achieve our political goals. No doubt it is a complicated responsibility that can be shouldered by many, but keeping the youth far from it, due to this reason, may make it more complicated, because this can be like releasing the anchor of a ship that can make the shipmore closer to sinking.

But on the part of the media, there is no basis for the saying that there is a young media. Even what is said in the mass media concerning youth affairsdoesn't fully touch on their affairs. It is either against Muslim youth's morals and his culture, values and behavior, or it will bea guidance to the right path. However, the programs relayed by satellite televisions portray the condition of separation between introductory matters and the gains of the youth where he cannot see himself.

Maybe he may find programs on music,sports and other subjects, but it hardly finds a place in the society or pay attention to his problems or an established program of taking him out of it or a firmed culture that gives much consideration to his personality. The media responsibility of a youthis based on criticizing this media. Not only should they forward their complaints to the newspapers and magazines in those western mass media,who are proud of broadcasting youth programs that give much emphasis of sexual stimulants, but they should request that they correct their programs for the benefit of the whole youth population.

The lack of complaints toward those mass media will only encourage them to widen their activities and programs, and, likewise, the broadcasting of pure programs and competing with those evil stations or internet sites might open a way for a youth toward knowledge and understanding. The problem is not from the youth,himself , rather, it is from those who are taking care of his media affairs. Because as we know, if a youth found a nice station that cares about his social affairs and plays a vital role in that field, no doubt he will stick to it and do away with other evil stations.

12- National Responsibility:

“Love for a nation is among faith.” Love is a responsibility…as faith is also a responsibility.

Love and relationship, with one nation and country, grows more and more. It is not just an emotional relation that is related to family, language,culture and ideology, rather, it is a responsible relation in two ways: A nations' responsibility toward its citizens and the citizens' responsibility toward the nation.

It is our big family; can we leave our relationship, help and solving our small family problems? Do not we feel that we are part of it; it hurts us what hurts it and makes us happy what makes it happy? The case is the same with our nation and country…it is our big family that requires a great service in building and developing it, as well as, bringing it out from darkness, dependency, total decay, ignorance and backwardness, as it requires us to protect it from diseases, spiritual and material calamities. This love can also make us take up weapons in order to defend it from its enemy that is against its citizens, security, economy, as well as, sacrifice for its independence and dignity. As it is the responsibility of the occupiers of a small house to defend it, likewise, it is our responsibility to defend our big house (country).

What we see from some of our youth today is lack of national feeling, this is the cultural and educational responsibility. What we mean by national feeling is knowing the state of the nation, its history, the men that sacrificed their lives for its sake, its culture, and politics, as well as, relating to its past, present and future.

Among the requirement of this feeling is to take the responsibility of taking care of its social, economic, political and morals need, and working hard in its development that becomes the target of enemies,weapons and destruction. The national responsibility is of many branches, requiring every ability in developing its components as well as reforming the spoiled part and to be in service of its educational, industrial,intellectual and working fields.

It requires us to work in order to reform its environment, its water, trees, animals and other natural gifts. In addition, we should be its messengers and ambassadors wherever we found ourselves. Imam Ali (a.s .) said: “Your countries have rights upon you, you are responsible even for (its) land and animals.”

13- Historical Responsibility:

The pages of history, both good and evil, are folded…it is the responsibility of the past generations; we will not be questioned on its negativity or otherwise: (That wasa people that hath passed away. They shall reap the fruit of what they did, and ye of what ye do! Of theirmerits there is no question in your case), (Holy Qur'an: 2:134).

Then, what will be our position on history?

Can we lead the best part of our history and legacy even though it has what may benefit our present being? Nodoubt we can be able to deduct new views and experiences through reading history and its lessons. Experience has shown that those who are versed in history and its lessons are more powerful in their views on the present time and future.

It is a historical responsibility to read our history and the history of the world objectively without limit and it should not be fanatically or extremism between rejecting everything and accepting all that is in it. It is the production of a man likeus, it may be correct or otherwise. It may contain things that are not originally there, this may make us not to regard history in the same position with the Holy Qur'an or other pure legacies thatdon't accept argument or refutation. Anything in historyshould be subjected to discussion, argument, study, criticism, and contemplation.

Some youth might say: We are people oftoday, therefore, we are less concerned with what has past. Thus, we are here, we are calling toward looking deep into the past, but can take from our past for our present what benefits us. Indeed, it is aQur'anic call towards us: (Do they not travel through the earth), (Seest thou not how thy Lord dealt with…), (Say Go ye through the earth and see….). Therefore, we should not consider all the conditions of the past and their experiences as correct or unacceptable. Thus, historical responsibility requires that we should look into events and views more than we are looking at signs and men. Those might have passed the road of history; nothing is left of them except views based on studies, thinking and experiences. Nodoubt some of their actions are acceptable while others are rejected.

On the Path of Responsibility

The Responsibilities are Knowledge: Know the details of the responsibilities in order to know what your duty is,and, also, know its importance so that you will react with it and strive towards achieving it.

“Be engaged in the thing that you will be responsible for “, so, whoever becomes busy with something of less importance, wastes the most important…there is not enough time in life for marginal matters that are not of great importance. Monotony and dullness kills thespirit of responsibility…try and change the method of your relationship with responsibilities, and not to be a standstill in a certain condition. Because being at a standstill and blind imitation will turn responsibilities into a heavy load that a middle age man cannot carry.

Do not delay your responsibilities because they will accumulate and at last will become difficult to discharge. It is reported in ahadith : “Beware of stalling, because it is a river where people sink”. Deal with responsibility with an open spirit, as if you are the one who drags it to yourself in order to be able to discharge it as expected. Loving responsibility makes your product improve.

Responsibility has an effect on man's personality; the more time that is spent on discharging a particular responsibility, the more mature your intellect will be, and, likewise, so your power of resistance, experience and knowledge.

Laziness and weariness are enemies of discharging responsibility: “Beware of laziness and weariness, because a lazy person cannot fight for right and a bored man cannot seek his rights.” Laziness,inactiveness andlukewarmness in discharging duties is a great block in discharging responsibility.

The collective spirit in discharging responsibility helps in reducing its burden; helps in inventing, as well as feeling theresponsibilty in achieving common missions which bring far goals closer. Reading the Holy Qur'an and authentichadith encourages one in discharging his responsibility.But what are they? How can we deal with them? How can we accept them with an open heart? How can we understand the present and future outcomes? Thus, it is necessary for young Muslims boys and girls to depend on these two sources in order to know their responsibilities.

Outcomes of being Adhered to Responsibility

Discharging any responsibility in the best way may result in one or more of the following outcomes:

Holding the principle of responsibility opens the door to freedom without any darkness. Subsequently, it is the necessity of responsibility to close doors of deviation,disorder and anarchy.

One of the natures of Islamic responsibility is that it opens a wider field of goodness; there is no limit to the increment of good in all responsibilities.

Responsibility directs man's activities and makes it valuable, i.e., it will turn a responsible man, who is carrying responsibility, to a man of aim and goals who cannot move without having intended goals.

As responsibility tries to create an understanding between opinions and actions, and the views of a Muslim youth,girls and boys, concerning any responsibility on their shoulder, likewise, it encourages them to discharge their duties. Islamic responsibility is out of any geographical boundary; its distance is the whole world. It is true that close relatives are worthier of goodness, but we are responsible for reforming the whole world.But , if this responsibility stands only on the borderline, we will not have seen the kind of propagation of Islam that occurred in every part of the world.

Responsibility with its spirit of commitment, decreases and limits the circles of deviation, crimes, treason and other forms of downfall and all kinds of failure, laziness and dependence. A responsible man respects the requirements of his role in life.

Responsibility in Islam creates a condition of harmony and conformity between Allah's will and that of His servant (a Muslim).They are not two wills, rather it is a single will…Allah requests and man obeys and discharges, i.e., he practices the will of Allah and commits it into practice on earth “The response of the believers, when they are invited to Allah and His Apostle that he may judge between them, is only to say: We hear and we obey; and these it is that we are the successful.” (Holy Qur'an: 24:51).

Positive examples whoshouls undertake theirresponbibilities in the best way and be provocative tools in order to be followed by those who tarry or disown from its burdens. And as long as the other young man or woman has theacapability of performing this or that responsibility,I, also, have the capability of performing this or thatmisson .

A set of Islamic responsibilities maintain the reformation of life and changing the deviated views and feelings, and they cannot be achieved unless through a responsible person and a responsible society. The degree of enduring the heaviness of responsibility, in the world justifies the degree of reward or punishment in the hereafter. It is similar to the annual hardworking of a student in school, a chance that will give an increment in reward for anyone who wants increment.

Conclusion

When the Holy Prophet (s.a.w .) said: “All of you are shepherds and all of you are responsible for his subjects”, he made every Muslim responsible whatever his position in the society is, so that nobody can say: 'I am not assigned this work…it is the duty of others.'“

From here, the condition of despair, pessimism and frustration that are seen in most Muslim communities requires a youth who is well versed in what is going on, to work hard in order to remove this block from people's way, as well as, working in order to put the spirit of action and hope in them. We should always remember that (So verily, with every difficulty, there is relief. Verily, with every difficulty there is relief). (Holy Qur'an:Inshirah : 5-6).

Opening the door of dialogue basedon the basis of respecting others' views, even if they are against ours, is a responsibility of a youth at this time where all doors are opened. This is because the process of knowing each other, as requested by the Almighty Allah, for nations starts with respecting those who have a different view from us.

There is, also, the responsibility of developing feelings of criticism of any opinion and view by tabling it for discussion, even though it is not just a matter of disorder rather it needs planning (I only desire (you) betterment to the best of my ability) (Holy Qur'an: 11: 88). All Praisebe to Allah, the Lord of the Worlds.

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8- The Responsibility of Good Manners and Morals:

Being the fact that a youth has a bigger heart, pure nature and higher ability to change from negative to positive, the responsibility of good manners and morals is big and heavy on his shoulders. This is because of Allah's favor towards him.

He is responsible for propagating and spreadingvirutes . Honestyperfomed by everyone is good, but it will be morebeter when it is done by a young man; being patient with others is good, but when it is done by a youth, it is a miracle. Humbleness from a youth is dignity; likewise, kindness is a flower for them. Chastity from them has its decoration; likewise, calmness from a youth that was upset, by some feeling, is good.Brotherhood between youths has its spiritual good and attraction. Their love for good is an indicator of goodness and, likewise, piety is an indicator of firm belief…the more a youth takes hold of morality, the more life will be good and sound.

Indeed, people look at young boys and girls who are well mannered with Islamic morals, with great respect and dignity. Mostly, they used to point at them saying: Look at his/her chastity,faith and righteousness.

And , as a young man, through his pure nature, hates injustice, cheating and many social and political appearances. Therefore, his responsibility comes from his feeling the necessity to establish right and revoke wrong. Therefore, among the moral responsibilities of a youth are: fighting sins and other evils like; lying, backbiting, hypocrisy, disrespecting parents, mockery, humiliating neighbors, pride, arrogance, treason and others. Inaddition of the fact that it is a religious responsibility, it is a social responsibility, too. A youth is worthier thanothers in honoring the elders and respecting the pre-generations even though there are differences of time and approaches. Thus, it is his/her responsibility to have a firm relation and discussion with them, as well as, respecting their experiences: “He is not among us who doesn't have mercy on smaller ones and respect the elders.”

The responsibility of manners requires the youth not to be a block…

As youth, we can work collectively in order to put forward this responsibility,and also to work together with others in order to fight the dangerous evil manners that are decomposed in the social circle. We should be a model of refraining against the act of evil, talking to those who are practicing it in the best way; maybe they will fear Allah and change. Among the moral responsibilities that are important to the youth are fighting the view that the relationship between people must only be material. They have distorted the feeling of love for Allah's sake. Many a time they have destroyed the relationship that is based on tolerance,guidance and sacrifice; turning all these into a source of business.

Among the descending views are: “If you have money, you are something, if not, you are nothing” or “Be like a wolf, and if not, you will be eaten by wolves” and “Make no drop of water fall if I die thirsty” can never be confronted unless by the determination of a youth who feels his social responsibility; who should work hard to correct and change the distorted image of the youth, step by step.

9-Social Responsibility:

As a youth, you are interrelated with the society around you by different chains of relationship: Relationship with parents, family and neighbors, relationships with brothers, friends and companions, and, likewise, the relationship with general people.

Regarding the relation with parents, family and other relatives…you are responsible for doing good to parents and respecting them (Thy Lord hath decreed that ye worship none but Him, and that ye be kind to parents) (Holy Qur'an: 17: 23). This is to say, you must refrain from saying 'a word of contempt' to them, or repelling them and nor hurting them with bad words or actions (accompany them in this world with justice and consideration) (Holy Qur'an: 31:15). And youshould, also, work according to your ability to make them understand your great love towards them, and appreciating their favor on you and your needs toward them in difficult situations. This creates a fatherly atmosphere that will make them feel thathowever you get older and however they get older, having contact with them satisfies a psychological need of you and them, too.

Regardig the relation with the members of the family, you are responsible for respecting the elders and sympathizing with the smaller ones. This will create aspchological rest for all and increases love and affection among them. As you are responsible - in the field of distributinghouseworks - for doing your work assigned to you based on your ability and time, an, here, we should not forget that the best deed is the one which is done voluntarily. However, being related to a respected family amongpeople, makes you have the responsibility of safeguarding its good and pure reputation by not doing something which may destroy or hurts their reputation.

But the relation with brothers, friends and companions, you are responsible for building it on the basis of faith:: (The true believers are but a single brotherhood) (Holy Qur'an: 49:10), so that you may benefit from their companionship and,alos , they benefit from yours, both in this world and the hereafter.And, also, you are responsible for reforming the gap created between your close brothers (and keep straight the relations between yourself) (Holy Qur'an: 8:1). Youshould, also, be their mirror in which they see the beauty of theirbehaviour and its evilness. It is narrated in ahadith that a true brother, on whom youtrusy , is the one who tells you your faults, and that “A believer is a mirror of his fellow believer.” We can widen our understanding of the Prophetic saying “Ask for a companion before (asking for a) way”, that it is not only at the time of traveling, rather even in day-to-day activities. This is because a friendis attached to his friend.

As you are responsible for your family and friends, you are, also, responsible for the people surrounding you in yourbehaviour with them, rendering them a service, reducing their suffering, cooperating with them in doing good that benefits the whole society “The close ones are worthier in goodness.” The spirit of a youth may grow further based on his social activities and faith in helping others.

You can feel good and enjoyment while helping your close relatives, but the enjoyment will increase more when you help those who are not close to you. This is because you will feel that you are out of your limited circle in amore wider one discharging all goods. Itis reported in onehadith : “The best of people is the one who benefits others.”

Surely, the way of building a firm social relationship requires us, as a youth, to know the factors that strengthen such relationship,and, also, what are things that harm and weaken it?And what are its positive effects?Knowing others' rights and respecting them - whether he is a father, mother, friend, close relation and or others - make you a source of their respect, thanks and good will prayers…who knows whether your kindness to him will pour Allah's mercy on you “All creatures are Allah's household, and the best among them is the one who is good to hisfamilys .”

10- Financial Responsibility:

Bythis we mean your responsibility, as a youth, in directing spending and consumption. Indeed, the material outlook has spread and become a wider phenomenon among our youth, boys and girls, to the extent that it makes them spend much on their unnecessary needs and, even sometimes, it may result into extravagancy.

No doubt giving much consideration to physical beauty is good, but having an exaggeration in it such as filling the drawers with so many clothes that one cannot wear, except once or twice and then, leaves it is something of no importance, instead we should spent on necessary things. The youth are responsible for exhorting others towards the 'Culture of Consumption' brought by the mass media based on people's feelings, but, it is necessary to warn people against becoming the victim of a company's advertisement which many time is out of reality.

Economical responsibility, also, requires the youth totake another look into being a tool of hard work till he finishes his studies. Making use of the summer holiday in doing other beneficial things helps a lot, both in experience and getting some money in paying some of their needs. It is a mistake to stay without doing any worktill we graduate from the university, because the course we attend will help us in paving the way for us in doing better and getting much experience.

A group of youth with equal or one opinion can come together and require that a certain amount of money, as a loan in order to start a business even a small venture, will help them at the time of marriage or getting a house to start their new life.

And , likewise, they can require to use a certain plot of land in order to build a town or village for the purpose of living there or developing it, but the cost may come from certain people. Maybe it will be difficult due to other social problems, but with all these, there is the possibility that many locked doors might be opened through it, if not,all our request is meant at least some might be accepted. It has been said: “No right will be lost if it is requested,” and that “Rights are taken and not given”. The economical responsibility requires that a youth who has some wealth to help others, most especially his fellow youth, in solving their problems.

11- Political and the Media's Responsibility:

A PropheticHadith says: “Whoever wakes up without giving much consideration to the Muslim's affairs is not a Muslim.”

This is a wider call toward giving much importance to the Muslim's affairs, wherever they might be. This consideration is not only achieved in feeling pain for their sufferings nor becoming happy with their happiness, rather it includes anything that can make their spiritual and material life better: “The example of Muslims in their love and mercy is like that of a body that can be sick sharing the sickness with other parts.” This social Islamic membership in love,affection and mercy will not allow the hand to say: “Well, I am ok so the pain of the other body doesn't concern me.” It will not allow the eyes to say: “There is nothing to bother me since it is the leg that is suffering”, no it is not like this. The relationship is such that it will have effect on every part of the body.

Based on this, the principle of enjoining good and prohibiting evil is not only limited in calling toward moral reform and fighting social evils, rather, it comprises our responsibility, as Muslims, in making a stand in the whole issue of reform and all evils. We must reform all evils using different methods and abilities, as well as, encouraging the reformed one in order for him to be firm on his stand. Here, we can forward this question to ourselves: Tell me what is your least stand…because a youth who doesn't have a stand is just like a feather in the air; it is not stable rather, it is the air that leads it to every evil and misguidance.

If this young fellow, who is sacrificing his life for the purpose of rescuing his people from the injustice of an unjust ruler in a limited andselffish way thinks and says: It has nothing to do with what belongs to people, no people have been liberated nor any force of darkness has been defeated.

If you kept quite in seeking justice and refrain from defending the rights of the oppressed, you are helping injustice indirectly. Itis said : “Whoever keeps quite against injustice is a worse devil.”

Whatwas called the 'Political Road' contains a large number of youth; a political responsibility requires that the youth must have a say in all affairs. Many a time, the participation of the youth in demonstrations and protests changed the path and he movement here and there. Indeed, your sound is your responsibility…have you not seen how it can help if you give it to a wrong or unjust path? Then, why do not you give it to justice,right and freedom? Are not you a Muslim who is responsible for fighting oppressors and helping the oppressed? “Be harsh to the oppressor and a helper to the oppressed.”

Maybe sanctioning the goods of the occupiers (like the Zionist) cannot be effective on their economy, but it is a great stand…it represents the culture of presence, because sanctions here and there can make the effect wider and harm the enemy more. Therefore, the way of discharging political responsibility follows different channels: One is (consciousness) and a political awareness on what is going on here and there that includes planning, slogans, conferences and other movements both domestic and international.

Then (political presence) in the sense that the youth might have their own opinion in their society's affairs both the present one and the future ones, being a part that can never be separated from the society. A political writer has said: “Retiring from public activities by an Arab is a disaster for thesociety .”

Also , political responsibility calls us toward purifying political activities from lying, controversy, playing with slogans and treason. That is, we must work in order to give politics its moral being. We should not regard depending on forbidden evil as a way to achieve our political goals. No doubt it is a complicated responsibility that can be shouldered by many, but keeping the youth far from it, due to this reason, may make it more complicated, because this can be like releasing the anchor of a ship that can make the shipmore closer to sinking.

But on the part of the media, there is no basis for the saying that there is a young media. Even what is said in the mass media concerning youth affairsdoesn't fully touch on their affairs. It is either against Muslim youth's morals and his culture, values and behavior, or it will bea guidance to the right path. However, the programs relayed by satellite televisions portray the condition of separation between introductory matters and the gains of the youth where he cannot see himself.

Maybe he may find programs on music,sports and other subjects, but it hardly finds a place in the society or pay attention to his problems or an established program of taking him out of it or a firmed culture that gives much consideration to his personality. The media responsibility of a youthis based on criticizing this media. Not only should they forward their complaints to the newspapers and magazines in those western mass media,who are proud of broadcasting youth programs that give much emphasis of sexual stimulants, but they should request that they correct their programs for the benefit of the whole youth population.

The lack of complaints toward those mass media will only encourage them to widen their activities and programs, and, likewise, the broadcasting of pure programs and competing with those evil stations or internet sites might open a way for a youth toward knowledge and understanding. The problem is not from the youth,himself , rather, it is from those who are taking care of his media affairs. Because as we know, if a youth found a nice station that cares about his social affairs and plays a vital role in that field, no doubt he will stick to it and do away with other evil stations.

12- National Responsibility:

“Love for a nation is among faith.” Love is a responsibility…as faith is also a responsibility.

Love and relationship, with one nation and country, grows more and more. It is not just an emotional relation that is related to family, language,culture and ideology, rather, it is a responsible relation in two ways: A nations' responsibility toward its citizens and the citizens' responsibility toward the nation.

It is our big family; can we leave our relationship, help and solving our small family problems? Do not we feel that we are part of it; it hurts us what hurts it and makes us happy what makes it happy? The case is the same with our nation and country…it is our big family that requires a great service in building and developing it, as well as, bringing it out from darkness, dependency, total decay, ignorance and backwardness, as it requires us to protect it from diseases, spiritual and material calamities. This love can also make us take up weapons in order to defend it from its enemy that is against its citizens, security, economy, as well as, sacrifice for its independence and dignity. As it is the responsibility of the occupiers of a small house to defend it, likewise, it is our responsibility to defend our big house (country).

What we see from some of our youth today is lack of national feeling, this is the cultural and educational responsibility. What we mean by national feeling is knowing the state of the nation, its history, the men that sacrificed their lives for its sake, its culture, and politics, as well as, relating to its past, present and future.

Among the requirement of this feeling is to take the responsibility of taking care of its social, economic, political and morals need, and working hard in its development that becomes the target of enemies,weapons and destruction. The national responsibility is of many branches, requiring every ability in developing its components as well as reforming the spoiled part and to be in service of its educational, industrial,intellectual and working fields.

It requires us to work in order to reform its environment, its water, trees, animals and other natural gifts. In addition, we should be its messengers and ambassadors wherever we found ourselves. Imam Ali (a.s .) said: “Your countries have rights upon you, you are responsible even for (its) land and animals.”

13- Historical Responsibility:

The pages of history, both good and evil, are folded…it is the responsibility of the past generations; we will not be questioned on its negativity or otherwise: (That wasa people that hath passed away. They shall reap the fruit of what they did, and ye of what ye do! Of theirmerits there is no question in your case), (Holy Qur'an: 2:134).

Then, what will be our position on history?

Can we lead the best part of our history and legacy even though it has what may benefit our present being? Nodoubt we can be able to deduct new views and experiences through reading history and its lessons. Experience has shown that those who are versed in history and its lessons are more powerful in their views on the present time and future.

It is a historical responsibility to read our history and the history of the world objectively without limit and it should not be fanatically or extremism between rejecting everything and accepting all that is in it. It is the production of a man likeus, it may be correct or otherwise. It may contain things that are not originally there, this may make us not to regard history in the same position with the Holy Qur'an or other pure legacies thatdon't accept argument or refutation. Anything in historyshould be subjected to discussion, argument, study, criticism, and contemplation.

Some youth might say: We are people oftoday, therefore, we are less concerned with what has past. Thus, we are here, we are calling toward looking deep into the past, but can take from our past for our present what benefits us. Indeed, it is aQur'anic call towards us: (Do they not travel through the earth), (Seest thou not how thy Lord dealt with…), (Say Go ye through the earth and see….). Therefore, we should not consider all the conditions of the past and their experiences as correct or unacceptable. Thus, historical responsibility requires that we should look into events and views more than we are looking at signs and men. Those might have passed the road of history; nothing is left of them except views based on studies, thinking and experiences. Nodoubt some of their actions are acceptable while others are rejected.

On the Path of Responsibility

The Responsibilities are Knowledge: Know the details of the responsibilities in order to know what your duty is,and, also, know its importance so that you will react with it and strive towards achieving it.

“Be engaged in the thing that you will be responsible for “, so, whoever becomes busy with something of less importance, wastes the most important…there is not enough time in life for marginal matters that are not of great importance. Monotony and dullness kills thespirit of responsibility…try and change the method of your relationship with responsibilities, and not to be a standstill in a certain condition. Because being at a standstill and blind imitation will turn responsibilities into a heavy load that a middle age man cannot carry.

Do not delay your responsibilities because they will accumulate and at last will become difficult to discharge. It is reported in ahadith : “Beware of stalling, because it is a river where people sink”. Deal with responsibility with an open spirit, as if you are the one who drags it to yourself in order to be able to discharge it as expected. Loving responsibility makes your product improve.

Responsibility has an effect on man's personality; the more time that is spent on discharging a particular responsibility, the more mature your intellect will be, and, likewise, so your power of resistance, experience and knowledge.

Laziness and weariness are enemies of discharging responsibility: “Beware of laziness and weariness, because a lazy person cannot fight for right and a bored man cannot seek his rights.” Laziness,inactiveness andlukewarmness in discharging duties is a great block in discharging responsibility.

The collective spirit in discharging responsibility helps in reducing its burden; helps in inventing, as well as feeling theresponsibilty in achieving common missions which bring far goals closer. Reading the Holy Qur'an and authentichadith encourages one in discharging his responsibility.But what are they? How can we deal with them? How can we accept them with an open heart? How can we understand the present and future outcomes? Thus, it is necessary for young Muslims boys and girls to depend on these two sources in order to know their responsibilities.

Outcomes of being Adhered to Responsibility

Discharging any responsibility in the best way may result in one or more of the following outcomes:

Holding the principle of responsibility opens the door to freedom without any darkness. Subsequently, it is the necessity of responsibility to close doors of deviation,disorder and anarchy.

One of the natures of Islamic responsibility is that it opens a wider field of goodness; there is no limit to the increment of good in all responsibilities.

Responsibility directs man's activities and makes it valuable, i.e., it will turn a responsible man, who is carrying responsibility, to a man of aim and goals who cannot move without having intended goals.

As responsibility tries to create an understanding between opinions and actions, and the views of a Muslim youth,girls and boys, concerning any responsibility on their shoulder, likewise, it encourages them to discharge their duties. Islamic responsibility is out of any geographical boundary; its distance is the whole world. It is true that close relatives are worthier of goodness, but we are responsible for reforming the whole world.But , if this responsibility stands only on the borderline, we will not have seen the kind of propagation of Islam that occurred in every part of the world.

Responsibility with its spirit of commitment, decreases and limits the circles of deviation, crimes, treason and other forms of downfall and all kinds of failure, laziness and dependence. A responsible man respects the requirements of his role in life.

Responsibility in Islam creates a condition of harmony and conformity between Allah's will and that of His servant (a Muslim).They are not two wills, rather it is a single will…Allah requests and man obeys and discharges, i.e., he practices the will of Allah and commits it into practice on earth “The response of the believers, when they are invited to Allah and His Apostle that he may judge between them, is only to say: We hear and we obey; and these it is that we are the successful.” (Holy Qur'an: 24:51).

Positive examples whoshouls undertake theirresponbibilities in the best way and be provocative tools in order to be followed by those who tarry or disown from its burdens. And as long as the other young man or woman has theacapability of performing this or that responsibility,I, also, have the capability of performing this or thatmisson .

A set of Islamic responsibilities maintain the reformation of life and changing the deviated views and feelings, and they cannot be achieved unless through a responsible person and a responsible society. The degree of enduring the heaviness of responsibility, in the world justifies the degree of reward or punishment in the hereafter. It is similar to the annual hardworking of a student in school, a chance that will give an increment in reward for anyone who wants increment.

Conclusion

When the Holy Prophet (s.a.w .) said: “All of you are shepherds and all of you are responsible for his subjects”, he made every Muslim responsible whatever his position in the society is, so that nobody can say: 'I am not assigned this work…it is the duty of others.'“

From here, the condition of despair, pessimism and frustration that are seen in most Muslim communities requires a youth who is well versed in what is going on, to work hard in order to remove this block from people's way, as well as, working in order to put the spirit of action and hope in them. We should always remember that (So verily, with every difficulty, there is relief. Verily, with every difficulty there is relief). (Holy Qur'an:Inshirah : 5-6).

Opening the door of dialogue basedon the basis of respecting others' views, even if they are against ours, is a responsibility of a youth at this time where all doors are opened. This is because the process of knowing each other, as requested by the Almighty Allah, for nations starts with respecting those who have a different view from us.

There is, also, the responsibility of developing feelings of criticism of any opinion and view by tabling it for discussion, even though it is not just a matter of disorder rather it needs planning (I only desire (you) betterment to the best of my ability) (Holy Qur'an: 11: 88). All Praisebe to Allah, the Lord of the Worlds.

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