The Initial Reception of Positivism in Turkey

Similar to their Western counterparts, the Ottoman intellectuals and thinkers were influenced by the French Revolution of 1789. The intellectuals and thinkers of this period turned to the West to find answers to the solution of local problems. One of the first ideas that Ottoman modernist movement encountered was Positivism, an offshoot of the Enlightenment. Modernist thinkers and intellectuals sought solutions for national problems in Positivism, and especially French positivism. While, in the West, Positivism has emerged as a consequence of a series of scientific, intellectual and economic developments, in Turkish intellectual world it has been understood as a political project for transforming the society in a fundamental way. Rather than focusing on the epistemological foundations that led to the Enlightenment and Positivism in the West, the Ottoman intellectuals were interested in the consequences of this epistemological foundation and its political effects. Therefore, a conceptual framework or rather a tradition of critical thinking to conceive the transformation and modernization in the Western world failed to emerge. Consequently, Turkish intellectuals remained as followers and students of Positivism and failed to develop a critical attitude towards this movement.

Keywords

Committee of Union and Progress, Enlightenment, Modernization, Positivism, Young Turks, Ziya Gökalp.