The effects of pozitivism in Turkish novels from tanzimat to 1950 (1865-1950)

All intellectual and practical efforts of humanity turn into a product of art, science, and thought. For this reason, it is quite natural that literary works which is considered artare affected by the philosophical trends and literary movements of the period in which they emerged. The dominant philosophical movement in the world and in the Ottoman geography in the 18th century was "positivism." This philosophical movement, which rejects all sources of knowledge other than the mind and senses, opposes metaphysical and mystical phenomena. The reflection of positivism in literature is possible with literary movements such as realism, naturalism and parnassism. We can say that the positivist perspective has been reflected in literary products since the Tanzimat period. There is a tendency to shift from abstract to concrete in the art products of this period. It is seen that realism predominates in the Hayaliyyun and Hakikiyyun debate. Positivismspread with the letter written by August Comte to Mustafa Reşid Pasha and affected the life perceptions and works of the intellectuals after the Tanzimat. The subject of this study is to examine the effects of positivism in Turkish Novels from the Tanzimat period to 1950 by examining ten novels written in the period. The primary goal of the study is resarching the scientific and social values that the society held in at that time and the manifestation ofanti-positivism in the novels' plots in question. For this purpose, the study is basically divided into two parts. In the first chapter, a theoretical framework about positivism is drawn to enlighten the reader. In the second part, selected novel reviews are included. Among the works examined in this study are Fenni Bir Roman Yahut Amerika Doktorları, Hayal İçinde, Gulyabani, Kuyruklu Yıldız Altında Bir İzdivaç, Hakka Sığındık, Yeşil Gece, Mezarından Kalkan Şehit, Gökyüzü, Üç İstanbul and Matmazel Noraliya'nın Koltuğu. When the perspectives of the characters who exhibit a positivist stance and the characters who do not display a positivist stance are examined in these works, it is seen that there is no commonality between them. While some of the characters are local and represent laypeople, some others have a different mindset from the majority of the society, displaying a profile suitable for the positivist thought system by analyzing events from a scientific perspective and representing a minority.