This article provides a parallel reading of Lutfi Paşa’s Asafname and Hasan Kafi’s Usul al-Hikam, both 16th century Ottoman siyasetnames. These books, the former penned by a prominent member of the bureaucracy and the latter by a middle ranking scholar, were compared in terms of the religious references they make, and the justifications they provide for specific recommendations. It was found, as was expected, that Usul uses religious references and religious justification more frequently than Asafname does. However, formal/rule-based justification, a larger ethical category encompassing the religious as well as traditional and legal justification and defined in opposition to utilitarian/consequentialist justification, was used more frequently by Asafname. Despite its heavily religious language and the religious background of its author, Usul used utilitarian arguments more frequently than formal ones when making recommendations.
This article provides a parallel reading of Lutfi Paşa’s Asafname and Hasan Kafi’s Usul al-Hikam, both 16th century Ottoman siyasetnames. These books, the former penned by a prominent member of the bureaucracy and the latter by a middle ranking scholar, were compared in terms of the religious references they make, and the justifications they provide for specific recommendations. It was found, as was expected, that Usul uses religious references and religious justification more frequently than Asafname does. However, formal/rule-based justification, a larger ethical category encompassing the religious as well as traditional and legal justification and defined in opposition to utilitarian/consequentialist justification, was used more frequently by Asafname. Despite its heavily religious language and the religious background of its author, Usul used utilitarian arguments more frequently than formal ones when making recommendations.
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