Cumhuriyet İlahiyat Dergisi

Öz

In this study, Consistency
and Balance Model (CBM) is proposed and introduced. In the context of the
model, the importance of consistency is emphasized in morality just like in
Philosophy. Therefore, CBM gives the reason prominence in morality to ensure
the consistency and according to CBM the emotion, the intuition and the
conscience in addition to the reason, are also important. In order to see the
principles determined by the reason in human behaviors, two kinds of
classification are developed for the virtues that is defined as the middle of
excess and defect. The first of them is the triple classification of virtues
that draws attention to the false existence of virtues and determines the
opposite of virtues as forming dichotomy. The latter is the tetrad
classification, which is based on the duality of two means that propose to
consider the virtues together. The Contrast
is considered as the central concept in the first classification and the integration is considered as the central
concept in the second classification. Then it is offered that the virtues may
be evaluated consistently in the social, global and theological contexts.
However, the ideal morality with objective qualities and the real morality with
subjective qualities are produced in order to reach the universal morality that
is determined by the reason, then the consistency and the integration are
proposed for them. Similarly, consistency and integration are proposed in the
dualities of principle-virtue, abstract-concrete, intention-outcome,
universality-locality, objectivity-subjectivity throughout the study. Finally,
it is pointed out that the reasonableness of applying consistency in morality
has exceptions.

Summary: Philosophy is the logical,
systematic and consistent thinking that focuses on specific questions and
topics to reach the reality. When this basic tendency of philosophy is applied
to morality, logical, systematic and consistent actions are expected to emerge.
Accordingly, a new model called as Consistency
and Balance Model (CBM) is proposed and introduced in this article. By this
model, the importance of consistency is emphasized in morality just like in
philosophy. Therefore, CBM gives the reason prominence in morality to ensure
thought, expression and behavior consistency. According to CBM the human
emotion, the divine intuition and the solid conscience in addition to reason
are required to determine the virtues. CBM, which is a synthesis of the good
intention and the reason, aims to constitute the sensible and good actions.
According to CBM, which has a holistic structure, if a person can adopt the
virtue as a principle and reflect the virtue in all of his behaviors during his
whole life, he can be defined as consistently virtuous.

CBM defines the good with the concepts of
consistency and balance. According to CBM, the good is the mean of excess and
defect. In this respect, CBM is based on Aristotle’s mean idea. However, CBM aims to develop it with new content. Two
important questions arise during the identification of the evil: 1. Is it bad
that nothing happens? 2. Is it bad that something is wrong? The point of defect
represents the absence and the point of excess represents the fallacy in the
entity. Both of them are bad in morality. The middle of them is the virtue. In
order to see the principles determined by the reason in human behaviors, two
kinds of classification are developed for the virtues which are defined as the
middle of excess and defect. The first is the triple classification of virtues
that draws attention to the false existence of virtues and determines the
opposite of virtues as forming dichotomy. The triple classification, which
forms a dichotomy as an empty pattern that can be applied to all virtues, is
determined as over virtue-virtous-virtueless. According to CBM the opposite of the mean is always clearly
the point of defect and implicitly the point of excess. Therefore, it is
important to determine extremes of virtues. The point of defect can be briefly
denoted as virtueless. The point of
excess can be denoted as in fact
virtueless, pretending as virtuous,
masked virtue and over virtue. The latter is the tetrad
classification, which is based on the duality of two means. In this
classification, it is possible to produce new and better virtues by considering
two virtues together. The Contrast is
considered as the central concept in the first classification and the integration is considered as the central
concept in the second classification.

The principle is seen as a guarantee for the
consistency in philosophy. CBM points out that a similar situation should be in
ethics. According to Kant, the invisible internal principles of the actions are
more important than the actions themselves to determine the moral value. The
principle does not vary according to the individual and the condition, on the
contrary, the individual is shaped by the principle and all individuals benefit
equally from the outcome of the principle. Thus, the abuse of the rights of
individuals with arbitrary treatments and double standards are prevented. In
this democratic environment formed by the principle not only the owner of the
power, but all right holders can get their rights. In this respect, the
adherence to the principle is the guarantee of the rights and the freedom by
establishing a balance between the rule and the freedom.

Aristotle’s virtue and Kant’s principle are
discussed in a holistic manner in this study. Thus, it is aimed that the
principles in the human mind and the virtues in human actions are consistent in
themselves and ultimately the union of the principles and the virtues can be
ensured. Besides, the concepts of the ideal morality and the real morality are
introduced in this article. The ideal morality takes place on the objective
basis of the good and the truth, which is absolute, universally and unarguably
accepted by everyone. The ideal morality with its objective qualities can be
seen as the target that people know and want to achieve. The real morality is
the morality that is shaped in the people or society in all its positive and
negative aspects, which also includes the subjectivity of them as their own
realities. The real morality with subjective qualities is the morality that
occurs in life. CBM aims at the integrity and the consistency between the ideal
morality and the real morality to reach the universal morality.

In this article, the virtues are divided into two
parts as material and spiritual. Then it is offered that the virtues may be
evaluated consistently in the principal, individual, social, global and
theological contexts. In this context, on the one hand it is aimed that the
principal, individual, social, global and theological virtues are consistent
within themselves and on the other hand they all are consistent within each
other. In this classification the principal and theological morality have
objective qualities and the individual and social morality have subjective
qualities. CBM aims at an objectivity that incorporates subjectivity within the
consistency and integrity of the principal, individual, social, global and
theological morality. CBM aims to achieve the ultimate morality by integrating
the starting point as the principal morality and the end point as the
theological morality and to make them clear in the individual and
social morality.  As a result, CBM confirms the mean found by
reason, by the revelation given by God. In other words, the morality that God
has already there and always presents and the morality that
the human mind finds here and now coincide. 

The consistency and integration are also proposed in
the dualities of principle-virtue, abstract-concrete, intention-outcome,
universality-locality, objectivity-subjectivity in the article. However,
consistency, which is the central concept of the article, can form the basis
for possible criticisms. But, it can be foreseen that the possible criticisms
oriented to CBM would come from an extreme consistency perception that detaches
the concept of consistency from reality without careful consideration. For this
reason it should be kept in mind that it is wrong to expect excessive
consistency in human behavior and to accept the ideal morality as absolute by
neglecting the real morality. Finally, it is pointed out that the
reasonableness of applying the consistency in morality has exceptions.