Lectures on Applied Ethics by Mostafa Malekian

A life without pain and suffering is not possible for any human being. However, one can adopt ways that allow life to continue and persist with less pain and suffering. In his lectures on applied ethics, Professor Mostafa Malekian has discussed points whose practice can provide the possibility of a better life, with less pain and suffering.

1- We should pursue beliefs whose acquisition brings about a positive change in our lives, such that our life before and after learning them is different. (Of course, the knowledge and skills required for a profession, livelihood, and survival are a separate matter. After all, we need certain information and skills to make a living). Beliefs whose acquisition will have enduring effects on our lives include:

Beliefs concerning the existential domains of the human being (the highest knowledge is self-knowledge): what these existential domains are, how many there are, and how they are prioritized. The extent of their influence on one another, and whether beliefs are among my possessions (predication by possession) or a fixed part of me (predication by identity). The latter state leads to narcissism, superstition, prejudice, rigidity, dogmatism, and intolerance. In the former state, however, we behave with an open mind.
Beliefs concerning the scope and limitations of the human species.
Beliefs concerning the scope and limitations of myself as a particular human being.
Beliefs concerning our own deep existential desires.
Note: Our focus should be on our self-image and our perception of our social image.
2- An unexamined life is not worth living. We should only accept opinions and beliefs that have been tested. Only reasoned beliefs are worth living by. Beliefs must be tested against reality. Yet in life, we often accept or reject our beliefs based on their coherence with other beliefs, and in this sense, we are idealists. When testing beliefs, we must not fall into the trap of hasty generalization, whether negative or positive.

In examining the truth or falsity of beliefs, we must accept true beliefs or those with a higher probability of being true,
reject false beliefs or those with a higher probability of being false.
If, among two or more beliefs, we cannot judge any to be superior, it is better to accept the one that creates more hope and joy.

The axioms of the emotional domain are:

1- Love these three Platonic ideals of life: Truth, Goodness, and Beauty. Other ideals are somehow related to these three.

2- We must cultivate compassion for human beings within ourselves. Compassion means unconditional goodwill towards specific individuals with whom we have a connection. Compassion differs from love in the sense of unconditional goodwill towards all people. We must not create negative feelings, emotions, or affects in others; rather, we should create positive feelings, emotions, and affects in others. We must generate love and eliminate hatred. Be a source of joy and a remover of sorrow. Be a source of peace and a remover of anxiety. We must reduce the physical pains and psychological sufferings of others and raise their threshold of tolerance.

Compassion is a function of the information we have about others.
Compassion is a function of empathy and sympathy. Empathy means how much I can put myself in your place, and sympathy means how much I can reconstruct your pain and suffering within myself.
Compassion is a function of your psychological type. Introverts better and more fully perceive the inner dimensions of your being, and extroverts better and more fully perceive the outer dimensions.
The more we consider people to be more compelled (subject to psychological, physical, geographical, social, and historical exigencies) than they and we assume, the greater our compassion for them becomes.
Paying attention to our own faults and shortcomings also increases our compassion for others.
The more we realize our own tragic loneliness, the greater our compassion for others becomes.
Understanding the fact that human beings are a collection of psychological conflicts, and sometimes do things they do not like and sometimes fail to do things they like, increases our compassion for them. Understanding the fact that sometimes one part of our being overcomes another and we do something contrary to our desire increases our compassion for others.
It is possible to feel compassion for another and still punish them for their immoral speech or action. Compassion here is refraining from acting on anger stemming from selfishness. What is important here is that we do not take pleasure in the act of anger and punishment.
3- Hopelessness is a virtue. We must kill hope within ourselves. Hope means expecting good from someone or something.

One must renounce hope in three things:

A. Hope for the alteration of natural laws by supernatural forces for the benefit of a specific person or group. One should not hope for unnatural intervention in the laws of existence. B. One should not place hope in others. The phrase “your restlessness comes from seeking your own stability.” Beneath the apparent constancy we observe in others’ behavior toward us lies a profound instability. C. (I did not find a third point. If friends noticed one, please leave a comment.) Certainties of the Realm of Desires and Will

1. We must prefer the present over the past and the future. Just as our body always lives in the present. Our place should be our present moment. We may return to the past only as necessary and briefly (and solely to learn from the past in order to live in the present). Because living in the past brings nothing but regret, longing, and sorrow. Living in the future will also lead to infatuation with fantasies and daydreaming. We must prioritize living by the thermometer and being a child of the moment.

2. Let us not seek anything contrary to the laws of existence. We will mention 6 of the most important laws of existence:

One cannot possess all individual social desirables (knowledge, fame, wealth, power, status) simultaneously. The consequence of enjoying one or two individual social desirables is the loss of other individual social desirables. Individual social desirables are realized within the container of society but for the individual. Some also believe this rule applies to collective social desirables such as order, security, justice, welfare, and freedom. Accept the diversity and colorfulness of the world. Do not expect uniformity. Never wish for everyone to think, feel, and behave like you. One can never meet everyone’s expectations. You should not expect to fulfill the expectations of all people. Because in any case, some will be dissatisfied with you. Either act according to your own natural disposition (inner satisfaction) and do not sacrifice yourself for others, or act according to the expectations of those more important to you. That is, select a group from among the people. (The professor’s recommendation is to act based on one’s natural disposition). A human being cannot live without error. Because living without error requires complete knowledge and science, which we do not possess. Therefore, never seek a flawless life. A sudden change that is lasting is impossible. Do not expect a lasting sudden change from yourself or others. Because it is not possible. Change must be gradual to be lasting. Every action has unintended effects and consequences; one should neither become proud of its positive aspects and expect appreciation and reward, nor become sorrowful over its negative aspects and consider oneself deserving of blame and punishment.

Certainties of the Realm of Speech

1. The principle in life should be silence. Speaking destroys our insight, creates dust, and prevents us from seeing what lies ahead. Silence, in its transcendent form, confronts us with cosmic consciousness and the perception of the totality of existence. Although silence in this sense is ideal for the individual, it weakens the cohesion of social life. The more you speak, the more you will be known, thus increasing the possibility of others’ dominance over you. Silence in the early stages of acquaintance with others causes their knowledge of you to be based on your actions; in this state, the likelihood of sincerity will increase.

2. Now, if there is to be dialogue, it is better to converse with ourselves. However, your dialogue with yourself should ideally be self-initiated and centered around a specific axis and issue, not subject to unwanted environmental stimuli.

3. The worst form of dialogue is when I converse with you inside my own mind (dialectical monologue). It is recommended to study Professor Malekian’s article “Clearer than Silence”).

4. The ethics concerning the content of speech differ according to the motivation we have for speaking:

If your intention in speaking is declarative and directed at the realm of knowledge, state what is actually the case. (For more information, refer to the ethics of the realm of belief. Observe the ethics of belief.) If your intention in speaking is to stir emotions, feelings, and affects, do not cause pain and suffering. (For more information, refer to the ethics of the realm of emotions. Observe the ethics of emotions.) If your intention in speaking is to incite or deter others from performing an action, be truthful. (For more information, refer to the ethics of conduct. Observe the ethics of conduct.) If your intention in speaking is to commit yourself to doing something (making a promise), keep your word. (For more information, refer to the ethics of conduct. Observe the ethics of conduct.) If your intention in speaking is to institute or create something, such as naming or reciting a marriage sermon, bear in mind that sometimes what is created cannot easily be undone.

The Postulates of the Realm of Conduct

1- Prioritize increasing pleasure and reducing pain and suffering. However, keep in mind that increasing your own pleasure and reducing your own pain and suffering is easier than doing so for others, because you have more awareness and information about yourself than about others. Compassion requires knowledge. (Refer to the ethics of emotions).

To experience more pleasure and less pain and suffering, you must cultivate your capacity for enjoyment within yourself. Remember that ownership is not a necessary condition for enjoyment. Ownership is anxiety-inducing. You may not own something, yet derive more pleasure from it compared to its owner. Enjoying objects or others does not depend on them, but on us. In compassionate conduct toward others, prioritize reducing suffering over reducing pain. Because pains have physical dimensions, they are often visible and apparent to others and receive sympathy, but sufferings, lacking obvious external dimensions, inflict deeper wounds. For compassionate conduct toward others, you do not need detailed information about them; you can also act based on general knowledge about human beings derived from the human sciences, as well as information about the psychological types of others. Very often, the greatest service you can render to another person may be to change their attitude toward themselves, humanity, and the world, so that they may experience more pleasure and less pain and suffering. In compassionate conduct toward others, pay attention to the place of their needs in the hierarchy of needs, and do what is appropriate to the level of their needs. Individuals, in terms of the kind of social desiderata they desire, derive pleasure from different things. Desiderata are of three kinds. a- Individual social desiderata, which have become important by virtue of living in the social sphere, but whose consumption is individual, such as power, wealth, status and position, fame, and popularity. b- Collective social desiderata, which have gained importance by virtue of living in society, but are a public good with collective consumption, and if realized, everyone benefits from them, such as justice, freedom, order, security, and welfare. c- Individual desiderata, which have not become important under the influence of life in the society in which we live, but are a function of our psychological type, such as happiness and tranquility. 2- You must observe truthfulness in conduct, meaning your actions should correspond to your words, and your words should correspond to your desires, emotions, and knowledge. Otherwise, you will have a compartmentalized personality, whose different realms have no connection with one another.

Our judgments of one another are based on our knowledge. Observing the discrepancy between speech and action causes suffering and leads to ruin. To lessen your distress when faced with dishonesty, it is necessary to distance yourself from your own perspective and also see your own dishonesties. Observing one's own dishonesty paves the way for accepting the dishonesty of others and reducing the resulting suffering. We have internalized certain values and norms that make it difficult for the various domains of our existence to align with one another. Adhering to the rule of honesty requires the transformation and improvement of some of the domains of your existence. However, do not wait for them to be transformed before you practice honesty. Honesty must be current and flowing in all circumstances. We must choose the side of stating the truth over reducing suffering. This is the preference of the master, and its opposite also has many proponents (on this matter, refer to the article by Morteza Mardiha). 3- In practice, we must have tranquility. Tranquility does not mean being slow or acting calmly. What is meant by tranquility is doing only one thing at a given time. Tranquility means performing a task with concentration. Haste, which is the opposite of tranquility, means doing several things simultaneously. Haste harms both myself and the person I am facing.

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