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Shiavault - a Vault of Shia Islamic Books A History of Muslim Philosophy Volume 2, Book 8 Chapter 76: Renaissance in Turkey: Zia Gokalp and His School In this chapter we shall discuss the role of philosophy in the rebirth of Turkey. It would be useful to clarify first the sense in which the term “philosophy” has been used here as a yardstick for identifying movements of thought.

“Philosophy” denotes the intellectual efforts to understand and explain, in terms of rational and secular thinking, the problems relating to man, society, and the universe that have been presented to people when they felt unsatisfied by the interpretations given by religions or by the sciences. The foremost prerequisite for the rise of philosophical thinking is the libera­tion of the mind from traditional modes of thinking.

Secondly, it rests on a certain level of scientific advancement and begins when ultimate questions relating to man, society, and universe compel men to go beyond the realm of science. Philosophy arises when the traditional mode of thinking based on fixed values breaks down and when scientific knowledge opens new horizons, ­both of which compel men to rational speculation.

The establishment of a tradition of philosophical thinking is the third important factor in the history of philosophy in a country. When we survey the development and present-day status of philosophy in Turkey, we find the first prerequisite amply whereas the other two exist only partially and imperfectly. During the last two centuries, modern Turkey has been in a process of gradual (at times violent) cultural trans­formation.

This transformation had two features that were decisive in determining the rise of philosophy and the direction it took. One was its secularizing feature and the other was its westernizing direction. With the breakdown of the traditional Islamic thinking, there appeared attempts to in­terpret phenomena in a very different way from that indicated by tradition. In these, however, Western European thinking served as a model.

As this transfor­mation is still going on and the two features mentioned above have not yet obtained an all-encompassing hold over the society and the individual, the state and the tradition of philosophical thinking in Turkey cannot be expected to be comparable to what they are in the West.