Wittgenstein and Islamic Ethics: The Interpretation of Intention

Abstract

This article contains an analysis of the idea of intention in the philosophy of Ludwig Wittgenstein. It evaluates capabilities of his conception in the development of Ethics in the «Islamic context». Author shows that Wittgenstein’s conception reveals a remarkable similarity to the fundamental assumption of Islamic Ethics, that is to «direct connection (bind, cohesion, connectedness) between intention and action». It is shown that an adequate understanding of this connection requires consideration of the Wittgensteinian idea of internal relations. It is proved that intention is not a manifestation of a «soul substance», «perception» or «feeling». Interpretation of «intention» provides additional refinement while defining specific intention ad hoc. In conclusion author puts forward a hypothesis asserting utility of late Wittgenstein’s conception in the development of Islamic ethical theory.