Vers une civilisation de l’éthique: de l’Homo Moralis à l’Homo Ethicus

This essay offers an Islamic perspective to the current stage of human thought and its different manifestations, strengths and limitations. The argument here is that Islam is not alone in encountering modern challenges, nor is it thus alone able to find solutions for them. There is now apparently one human civilization that shares whatever some individuals or communities produce or invent. High technology and digital world have united the world as never before - but has not unified it. The moral compass of Islam can play an important role in contributing to overcoming some major misunderstandings of what human beings can do for the world, societies, and individuals. Such a claim requires an explanation of what this moral call means, which this essay tries to outline by revising certain major concepts, like faith and religion, morality and ethics, sharia and law, spiritualism and spirituality, idealism and realism. This essay puts on the global table of discussion the claim that human beings need moralist idealism which their critical minds can realistically materialize if profound “spiritual self-criticism” is practiced not only in private but most importantly in the public. Classical faith traditions as containers of moral and ethical energies will still have a major role to play in world affairs led by utilitarianism and realism alone. Political Islam as known today is nothing compared to the energies Islamic philosophical understanding of the world and human beings offers.