Infanticide as Instructing Ethics in “Rostam and Sohrab”.docVIP

Infanticide as Instructing Ethics in “Rostam and Sohrab” 　　[a] Ph.D.， Assistant Professor， Islamic Azad University， Kerman Branch， Kerman， Iran. 　　[b] M.A.， Young Researchers Club， Tabriz branch， Islamic Azad University， Tabriz， Iran. 　　Corresponding author. 　　Received 1 December 2012； accepted 4 February 2013 　　Abstract 　　The present paper investigates the story of “Rostam and Sohrab” by Abolghasem Ferdowsi ? the poet of the fourth century. This paper aims to demonstrate the relationship between infanticide by the major character of this work， Rostam， and ethical dilemmas in the light of Emmanuel Levinas’s notion of responsibility and depicts how instructing ethics will appear in the act of infanticide by him. Therefore， this paper shows how infanticide despite of being indecent is considered as an ethical dead in specific circumstances. 　　Key words： Infanticide； Responsibility； Ethics 　　Hassan Shahabi， Marzieh Kouchaki （2013）. Infanticide as Instructing Ethics in “Rostam and Sohrab”. Canadian Social Science， 9（1）， -0. Available from： http：///index.php/css/article/view/j.css.1923669720130901.1113 DOI： http：///10.3968/j.css.1923669720130901.1113. 　　INTRODUCTION 　　It is normally thought that infanticide is considered to be common in various societies. According to the first article of the Convention on the Rights of the Child （UN General Assembly sanctioned in 1989）： “An infant is every human under eighteen who needs legal support.” （Zeraat， 1386， no. 50） Infanticide has severe emotional and psychological effects. Therefore， many stories are created based upon that among which the story of “Rostam and Sohrab” by Abol alghasem Ferdowsi is investigated in the present paper. Strikingly different works are generated in relation to this story. Each tried to remove some of the ambiguities. Although infanticide is mentioned in some of the works， none has specifically decoded it. 　　In connection with the story of “Rostam and Sohrab”， it can be said that this s