Social philosophy and sociology of Şehbenderzade Filibeli Ahmed Hilmi

In this study, which aims to examine the sociological views of Şehbenderzade Filibeli Ahmed Hilmi and thus to position him both in Turkish sociology and in the history of Islamic thought, the original texts of Ahmed Hilmi from Filibe were used as the primary data source and analyzed by interpreting them in a periodical context with the discourse analysis technique. The concepts that Filibeli used while examining his texts were expressed in their original form and the semantic world of Filibeli was tried to be revealed. The early years of sociology in the Ottoman Empire are not widely known by contemporary sociology. The study aims to shed light on the first years of sociology in the Ottoman Empire by focusing on Ahmed Hilmi from Filibe. The fact that the period has not been examined in detail in the context of Islamic intellectuals makes it possible to evaluate the thesis in terms of Islamic thought. The main reason why Filibeli Ahmed Hilmi was chosen as a research topic is that it offers the opportunity to examine the subject in terms of Islamic thought, that Filibeli has important works in terms of the first years of sociology in the Ottoman Empire and that his works have not been evaluated in terms of sociology yet. In the study, firstly, the emergence process of sociology and its manifestation in the Ottoman Empire were examined. It was emphasized how sociology was received in the Ottoman Empire, and it was determined which function sociology met in the Ottoman Empire. Afterwards, information about Ahmed Hilmi from Filibe was given and his sociological understanding was revealed. While Filibeli Ahmed Hilmi's conception of society manifests itself as a modern "tajdut society", it was designed depending on the idea of progress, different from the idea of "tajdid" in the tradition of Islamic thought. The idea of progress here is inspired by Spencer's organismic sociology. Filibeli Ahmed Hilmi, II. While looking for ways to keep the state alive, which is the common concern of the constitutional intellectuals, he designs this in the light of modern sciences, especially under the guidance of sociology. The study argues that Filibeli produced more systematic works in terms of sociological thought among his contemporaries and therefore should be included in the sociology literature.