<![CDATA[This study aims to compare the ethico-pedagogical thought of Imam al-Ghazali and John Stuart Mill’s utilitarianism and formulates its implications for contemporary character education. Using a library-based design with a qualitative-philosophical approach, the research draws on al-Ghazali’s Ihyā’ ‘Ulūm al-Dīn, Ayyuhā al-Walad, and Mīzān al-’Amal, and Mill’s Utilitarianism, Autobiography, A System of Logic, and On Liberty, supported by relevant secondary sources. The analysis proceeds through textual, comparative-dialectical, and contextual-integrative stages. The findings reveal three key points. First, al-Ghazali advances a theocentric-relational ethical framework centered on the heart as selective intelligence, a fourfold typology of character values, four synergistic methods of moral internalization (admonition, habituation, exemplarity, and narrative), and a conception of happiness (sa’ādah) as proximity to God (taqrīb ilā Allāh). Second, Mill transforms Benthamite utilitarianism by incorporating character into consequential evaluation and by promoting a caring character consisting of empathy, praxis, and knowledge or competence, thereby reconciling individual liberty with utilitarian commitments. Third, a structural isomorphism is identified between al-Ghazali’s tahdhīb al-akhlāq and Mill’s character development, with a fundamental divergence in transcendental versus immanent orientation.The study proposes an integrated ethico-pedagogical model synthesizing both traditions to address contemporary challenges, including nihilistic extremism, algorithmic misconduct, and spiritual commodification. It contributes to a renewed reading of al-Ghazali, a reassessment of Mill’s utilitarianism, and the advancement of dialogical engagement between Islamic ethics and modern moral philosophy.]]>
Copyrights © 2026
