CROSSING THE SPATIOTEMPORAL DIMENSION OF HUMAN CULTURE: MORAL SENSE OF JUSTICE IN THE FABLE OF THE RINGDOVE

The fable of the ringdove, written by Ibn al-Muqaffa'in the mid of the eighth century, traces back to oldest traditions of conveyance of ethical and moral values, which had been already documented in Old Egypt before spreading all over the world. In Islamic miniatures the ethical values correspond in their written form with the paintings. The visualization is didactic and child-oriented in order to enhance ethical behaviour. Philosophically the fable is based on poetic justice which is fundamental in Islamic ethics. Here, Islamic ethics go along with the understanding of moral sense that, following Anna-Teresa Tymieniecka, lies at the core of the metamorphosis of the life into the human condition. On this background the interplay of Islamic poetic justice and moral sense as a key in the understanding of the Logos of Life is particularly suitable for the enhancement of cross-cultural dialogue.