Theses supervised by Dr. Öğr. Üyesi Muhammet İkbal Bakır
10 theses · Ibn Haldun University
Nihilism as an opportunity to affirm life in Nietzsche
This thesis focuses on the strategies of Nietzsche as a cultural physician to diagnose and overcome the disease of nihilism that characterizes the Western intellectual tradition. On the one hand, nihilism is an inevitable consequence of logic inherent in the historical adventure of Western metaphysics; on the other hand, it is existentially related to the human relationship with life. The question the study pursues is whether nihilism as a disease itself also contains an opportunity to affirm and justify life. In this sense, the concepts of value, genealogy, naturalization, psychophysiology, and the will to power will be discussed, which are the tools Nietzsche uses to diagnose this ambivalent and multi-layered structure of nihilism. To undermine the values that cover up the nihilism problem of Western metaphysics and destabilize its conceptual framework, Nietzsche primarily conducts an investigation based on the grounds of the creation of values. Thus, in a naturalistic framework, Nietzsche analyzes the psychological and physiological structure of human beings who evaluate values through a genealogical study. Throughout this thesis, it will be problematized how Nietzsche takes nihilism as an opportunity by resorting to these tools.
A treatise concerning the concept of experience of Hegel
The concept of experience occupies an important position in Hegel's system of philosophy. It refers to the movement of consciousness throughout the moments which take the consciousness to the absolute knowledge. In this sense, the concept of experience is the main component of Hegel's system which allows it to become capable of integrating the existence into the realm of knowledge. Thus, the foundation of the subject and ego is directly tied to the concept of experience. In our investigation of the concept of experience, we focus on the meaning and the transformation of it as appropriate to the transformation and the meaning of the consciousness. In this context, we claim that the concept of experience has two different meanings; one is denotational, and the other one is connotational meaning of it. The consciousness comes into appearance through the denotational, or the first, meaning, whilst the self- consciousness comes into being through the connotational, or the second, meaning of the concept of experience. What this thesis claims is obviously to manifest the results of distinction of the concept of experience in itself. In addition to this, the impact of the concept of experience on the activity of the consciousness to get to know its existence is another focal point of this thesis. As a consequence, the division of the concept of experience into two meanings has an obvious effect on the manifestation of the differentiation of Hegel's system of philosophy from other approaches, and, of the foundation of the ego and appearance of two types of subject. Keywords: consciousness; experience; Hegel; Geist; idealism; self-consciousness.
Three constituents of singularity in Heidegger: Anxiety, temporality and death
In this thesis, the main question is how Heidegger establishes singularity by virtue of the phenomenons of anxiety, temporality and death. At first, an overview of the main discussions about universal and individual is presented as a preparatory way towards singularity. The distinctive position of Heidegger's philosophy appears in his differentiation of Being from beings. While questioning Being as the ground of beings, Heidegger does not theorise it within the traditional concepts of universal or individual as his precedessors do. This study argues that Heidegger formulates a fundamental ontology in which a priviledged particular being, i.e. Dasein, is neither universal nor individual, rather a singular being that substitutes both of them along with the relation/distance between universal and individual as something enabling them. To formulate such fundamental ontology, Heidegger starts with individual experiences of Dasein, but he does not thematize it under any categories. Because Dasein has a constitution of disclosedness that makes it trancendent and singular, it can not be defined and determined with certain categories and universals like "rational animal" or "thinking thing". This thesis analyzes Dasein's such indeterminateness under the term of 'singularity' in the sense of uniqueness and attempts to comprehend it with concepts of anxiety, temporality and death as its three constituents. With phenomenological interpretations of these concepts, Heidegger designates anxiety as a primary affectivity of Dasein in which the boundaries of beings become indifferent and Being shows itself in a unique way. In view of the concept of transcendence, he also advances a new formulation of time, i.e. temporality, which is finite and depended on Dasein unlike calculable time in modernity. As the last constituent, death is held as a phenomenon of life by which Dasein attains both its singularity and wholeness.
The relationship between being, truth, and art in the thought of heidegger
In this thesis, the relationship between Being, truth and art in Heidegger's thought is discussed. Although he is not regarded as a system philosopher and his work does not present a systematic unity, Heidegger's thought has been evaluated in a continuity perspective. In this framework, the reasons for Heidegger to object to the interpretation of Being within the dimensions of time based only on "now" and in terms of presence (presentia) are examined. In addition, the elements that differentiate Heidegger's understanding of Being from the traditional understanding of Being have been analyzed. Later, it was analyzed how the transition from the fundamental phenomenon of truth (aletheia) to the idea of agreement (adaequatio) over time took place. After Heidegger's understanding of truth was examined, within the framework of Heidegger's understanding of art, it was questioned what it means to evaluate art as an essential medium in the happening of truth.
Emek, özne ve ötekilik
Discussions on labour commonly limited with certain areas like economics and politics. In this regard, labouring on something most generally implies that subject who work on it is coherent with the acceptable rules of the socio-economic and political system. In this view, subject is considered as the constitutive part of the labouring. A subject who use the reason knows how this rational order works, and acts accordingly. Thus, what is done by him/her accepted as labour. However, subject could not be simply taken as the constitutive part of the labouring because the labour is emerged in between the subject and the texture of the life. The meaningful act is the result of the reciprocity between them. Subject by himself could not control over what they do. There is always a part that is 'unthematizable' which gives labour its' meaningful character. To refer this veiling part of the human labour, I will think over the concept of the other as the part that is not fully graspable by the human mind. In that sense, the aim of this dissertation is to examine the concept of labour in more broad context by considering it as a tension between subject and the other.
Theory of self-actualization in Abraham Maslow, Carl Rogers and the idea of 'Perfect Man' in Aziz Nasafi
The main aim of the research is to analyze the intersection between the theory of Self Actualization in Abraham Maslow, Carl Rogers and the perception of Perfect Man in Aziz Nasafi and to underline the propositions of both approaches on human perfection. The research will further discuss the main features of self-actualized man as defined by an analysis which will be made through the two separate standpoints. The research underlines the self-actualization theories of Abraham Maslow and Carl Rogers. Maslow argues that every human must fulfill his basic needs which he describes in a pyramidal system. The self-actualization as the goal of a human being is on the top of this hierarchical scheme. Maslow regards man as a growth oriented being.Other than the mentioned condition of self-actualization; Maslow refers to a healthy society to fulfill this higher goal. However, he underlines that this higher fulfillment of man cannot be achieved by any human but rather only a few of people. Carl Rogers was also an American psychologist who, like Maslow, emphasized the potential for good that exists within all people. Alongside Abraham Maslow, he is one of the forerunners of humanist psychology. He is especially well known for non-directive or client-centered therapy. Carl Rogers adopted this self-actualization conception and integrated it into his humanistically oriented psychotherapy system. Aziz Nasafi begins his description with an explanation of the cosmos and the existence to underline the specific status of human being among the entire creation. Thus, the man is the heart of the existence and the top of the creation. To figure out this issue Nasafi explains in several issues pertinent to the self-actualization process: the importance of self-awareness, the difference between those who actualize and those who do not, the need for understanding obstacles to actualization. At the end, in contrast to Maslow and Rogers, Nasafi includes a circular mechanism because of the fact that he understands the material and spiritual part of men in its entirety. Keywords: Maslow, Nasafi, Perfect Man, Carl Rogers, Self-actualization, Humanistic Psychology
Existential transitions and the creation of freedom in Kierkegaard
In Kierkegaard's philosophy, freedom is a central concept that intertwines with nearly all of the themes he addresses. For Kierkegaard, freedom is inextricably linked to existence. Kierkegaard defines the self as freedom and argues that the self does not have a fixed nature. Rather, the self is realized through the choices an individual makes, and this process must not be passive; the individual must have the courage to make choices in the face of uncertainty and must fully take on the moral responsibility of those choices. At the heart of Kierkegaard's understanding of freedom is his opposition to Hegelian thought. In Hegel's philosophy, freedom and the individual are explained within a comprehensive deterministic system, where the individual is seen as a moment in historical development. For Hegel, everything is examined within a system, and the pursuit of certainty is central. Unlike existence, by its nature, is unpredictable and cannot be contained within any system. However, Kierkegaard argues that such a system invalidates the individual's existence because it seeks to incorporate the individual into a larger, impersonal narrative. In this study, while attempting to interpret Kierkegaard's concept of freedom and philosophy within the context of its contrast with Hegelian philosophy, I worked to understand how freedom is established in the aesthetic, ethical, and religious stages of existence. Specifically, I analyzed how the concepts of freedom are treated differently by comparing Hegel's systematic and historical perspective with Kierkegaard's individual and subjective view of freedom. While Hegel's philosophy provides a philosophical backdrop, the primary aim is to elucidate Kierkegaard's unique contribution to the idea of freedom.
The relationship between being, truth, and art in the thought of heidegger
In this thesis, the relationship between Being, truth and art in Heidegger's thought is discussed. Although he is not regarded as a system philosopher and his work does not present a systematic unity, Heidegger's thought has been evaluated in a continuity perspective. In this framework, the reasons for Heidegger to object to the interpretation of Being within the dimensions of time based only on "now" and in terms of presence (presentia) are examined. In addition, the elements that differentiate Heidegger's understanding of Being from the traditional understanding of Being have been analyzed. Later, it was analyzed how the transition from the fundamental phenomenon of truth (aletheia) to the idea of agreement (adaequatio) over time took place. After Heidegger's understanding of truth was examined, within the framework of Heidegger's understanding of art, it was questioned what it means to evaluate art as an essential medium in the happening of truth.
The problem of determinism in history in the context of Karl Popper's philosophy
In this thesis, I deal with the problem of determinism in history. I have described the core questions that will determine a person's position in the context of the issue of determinism in history, and based on this description, I clarify Karl Popper's philosophical position on this issue. Accordingly, I first analyze the concepts of the philosophy of history, causality, determinism, and teleology and reveal their differences and similarities. Subsequently, by addressing the nomologicalism in the positive sciences and in the social sciences, I analyze the differences in these two areas in terms of predicting the future. In the section, I analyze the single-line, cyclical, and progress-based understanding of history with examples. Later, I emphasize that the examination of human is different from purely physical elements, since the human is an intentional-purposeful being. In the last part of my thesis, I examine Karl Popper's view of historicism. After handling his methodological explanation, I deal with examples of Karl Popper's way of associating holistic understandings of history with totalitarian regimes. In the same part, I clarify Popper's position by categorizing the debates on determinism according to different answers to the questions of whether there is a historical telos, and whether people have free will.
The light of intellect and spiritual vision in al-Ghazali's Mishkat al-Anwar
In this thesis, I discuss the whatness of knowledge through a 'being-knowing' perspective and analyze the Mishkat al Anwar (The Niche of Lights) of Abu Hamid al-Ghazali, as a prime example of a Sufi epistemology derived through relating internally to oneself. The seeking of knowledge is preceded by the experience of existential doubt that is to be found in knowledge, and for al-Ghazali, certainty was to be found in Sufism and their experiential knowledge. As such the Sufi ways of knowledge that are based on Unveiling (kashf), Taste (dhawk), and the manifestation of Being (tajalli) are presented in the Mishkat al-Anwar of al-Ghazali as such an epistemology. Thus, when perception is clear of externality, which is causality and outward forms of bodies, being reveals itself to perception with all its ontological attributes. Ghazali proposes that knowing Light, which he equates with Being, comes from the 'holy prophetic spirit' which is a stage that is beyond the rational and reflective faculties. Two types of knowledge come through 'being-knowing', a contextual knowing to which separated beings manifest themselves, and a knowledge whereby Being manifests itself as a unified reality with no separation. Knowledge of such realities come through the turning inward, the unveiling, manifestation, and taste of being. Keywords: Niche of Lights, Relating Internally, Unveiling, Manifestation, Taste