The public of Iran is saddened by the death of its senior politician Ali Larijani. But there is no time to mourn before the war reaches its end. Ali Larijani, the Iranian statesman killed in the Israeli attack, was often called the “Philosopher-General”. Larijani was not a military commander, but due to his deep experience of public life, study of Western philosophy and knowledge of politics, he played an important role in deciding Iran’s strategic decisions.
“Philosopher-general” is a term commonly used for a strategist or leader who uses deep philosophical understanding and rationalism in complex matters such as war, diplomacy, and national security.
As Secretary of the Supreme National Security Council, Ali Larijani was central to decisions related to war, diplomacy and national security.
His life was a unique combination of how the ethics and rationalism of a German philosopher like Kant could be reflected in the decisions of a political strategist.
The deep influence of German philosopher Immanuel Kant is visible in Larijani’s academic life. Larijani received a PhD in Western Philosophy from the University of Tehran, in which his thesis focused on “Kant’s Mathematical Philosophy”. He wrote three books on Kant which are the center point of his intellectual journey.
What was Kant’s philosophy?
German philosopher Kant gave revolutionary ideas on knowledge, morality and freedom. Kant said that the basis of goodness is “duty”, not pleasure or advantage. He said that do such work that your rule can become a universal law for everyone. He said that every human being should not be considered as a means but as an objective i.e. do not use others, respect their dignity. He said that morality comes from reason, not from religion or emotion.
Ali Larijani was influenced by Kant’s philosophy. They are Kant’s logic and iran They were the confluence point of ideological determination. He tried to define morality in his decisions as “political duty”.
Ali Larijani wrote three books based on Kant.
These are books.
1- The Mathematical Method in Kant’s Philosophy
2-Metaphysics and the Exact Sciences in Kant’s Philosophy
3-Institution and Synthetic A Priori Propositions in Kant’s Philosophy
These books are in Persian and are inspired by Kant’s Critique of Pure Reason. Larijani adapted and reinterpreted Kant within the framework of Shia philosophy (the transcendent philosophy of Mulla Sadra). He considered scientific/mathematical knowledge and religious knowledge to be parallel. Both were based on different intuitions and proceeded without establishing superiority over the other. This maintains the modern validity of religious knowledge.
A glimpse of Kant’s policies in Larijani’s decisions?
Larijani is often seen as Iran’s “moderate-conservative” leader. He gave priority to dialogue instead of complete confrontation in nuclear talks. This matches Kant’s ‘reason based judgment’. While talking to western countries, he gave priority to ‘national interest’ and did not stick to ideological conflict only.
However, it would be wrong to say that Larijani was completely “Kantian”. The final decision in Iranian politics is often in the hands of the Supreme Leader. Many times Larijani placed national interest above moral universality. Where Kant talks about “universal morality”. At the same time, Larijani seems to be adopting “national interest based realism” in practice.
As speaker in the Iranian parliament, Larijani supported pragmatic reforms that appear to resemble Kant’s rational autonomy. But philosophy made him a ‘progressive conservative’.
We can say that Kant’s influence on Ali Larijani was profound at the intellectual level. But limited and practical at the political level. He understood, wrote and interpreted Kant. But the realities of power and geopolitics made his decisions more “pragmatic”.
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