Orientalism: The problem of the 'other' in the Age of Enlightenment

This study examines the emergence and development of Orientalism, and how it came to a point during the Enlightenment Period, which has a very important place in history, and the relevance of the thoughts of Voltaire and Montesquieu, two philosophers who left their mark on the history of political thought in the Enlightenment Period, about the East and Easterners, with 'othering'. There are two basic assumptions for the past and present of Orientalism: The first is that Orientalism is a scientific discipline, as defended by Orientalists and a large number of Western philosophers and researchers. The second basic assumption, which stands in direct opposition to this, is that Orientalism is an area that alienates Easterners, Muslims and Turks, rather than a scientific discipline. The first basic thesis of our study is that Orientalism is an area that alienates the East and Islam, rather than a scientific discipline. In the Enlightenment Period, regarding Orientalism, although Enlightenment philosophers were accepted as a school in their own fields, most of these philosophers disregarded the principles of objectivity, rationality, freedom, tolerance and similar principles they defended in the field of Orientalism and alienated the East and Easterners, and the Orientalist understanding of the Enlightenment Period became the basis of modern Orientalism. The second main thesis of our study is that the Enlightenment Period, which was a revolutionary period in terms of science and thought, was a period that contributed to humanity to such an extent, but it also had a negative side such as 'othering', and that Voltaire and Montesquieu, two important philosophers of the Enlightenment, examined other societies with the idea of othering in Orientalism. In this context, since our study focuses on the relationship between the Enlightenment Period and Orientalism, our main theme, Orientalism, is limited to the Enlightenment Period. In this context, studies on Orientalism were first examined in our study. Then, the studies on the Enlightenment Period were examined and the thoughts, interpretations and descriptions about the East, Islam, the Ottomans, namely the other, were analyzed using the content analysis method. When we look at the literature, there are many studies on the Enlightenment Period and Orientalism. However, most of them are studies that study both subjects separately. Therefore, our study differs from other studies in terms of combining these two subjects and revealing the effects of Voltaire and Montesquieu on the philosophers after them and on modern Orientalism in terms of the othering of the East with an Orientalist understanding.