The role of Zoroastrian discourse and wisdom in ancient Iran

Wisdom has a main and central role in Zoroastrian thought and is the same as the Great creation. The creation of the world from beginning to the end is led by wisdom. In this paper, the wisdom is studied first in ancient texts (Old Persian, Old Avestan (Gahan) and New Avestan), and in then Pahlvi texts such as (Bundahishn, Wizidagiha i Zadisparam and the handwriting text of M.O. ۲۹). Four kinds of wisdom (omniscience wisdom, growing wisdom, The pious wisdom, and instinctive wisdom) in Avesta and Pahlavi are compared. ‘Zoroastrian Ethics’ is a kind of ‘utilitarian and hedonistic global consequentialism’ that is totally based on ‘Zoroastrian theology, ontology, and metaphysics’ in which the whole universe is arrayed in two opposite camps. The fundamental opposition between ‘Good’ and ‘Bad, ’ ‘pleasure’ and ‘pain,’ and ‘forces of life’ and ‘forces of death’ in ‘Zoroastrian ethics’ is exactly based on AVESTA that posits ‘Good’ against ‘Evil,’ Ahura Mazdā against Ahriman, and Spənta Mainyu against Aŋra Mainyu. Pahlavi ethical texts, like Dēnkard VI, also emphasize that human beings should keep their bodies in joy and withhold from bodily disorder, pain, and suffering and believe those who allow them in their body can hardly perform good acts.