Sociocultural origins of Turkish educational reforms and ideological origins of late Ottoman intellectuals (1908–1930)

Abstract The modern Turkish state and society have been greatly influenced by reforms of the education system. Second Constitutional Period reforms can be viewed as the preparatory stage of Republican reforms and a time when many of the later reforms were planned and given limited application. In this way both periods contributed to the foundation of modern Turkey. The innovations pioneered by Late Ottoman intellectuals stemmed from various origins, mostly European positivists and materialist philosophers. American pragmatism was added as an ideological source during the foundation of the Republic. It can be observed that ideological trends took root from Ottoman times according to the degree that intellectuals were affected by them. In this paper, the ideological origins of educational reforms during the Second Constitution Period have been studied in relation to the influence of European philosophers on Ottoman intellectuals of the time and their ideological environments. Late Ottoman intellectuals were found to have been largely affected by France's positivism, German's materialism and Comte, Durkheim, Büchner and Spencer. The paper reveals how modern Turkey's educational philosophy parameters have been shaped by these intellectuals' ideas. Keywords: Turkish Republic educational reformseducational philosophyeducational sociologylate Ottoman intellectualssecond constitution periodpositivismmaterialism Notes 1 K. Karpat, Osmanlı Modernleşmesi; Toplum, Kurumsal Değişim ve Nüfus [Ottoman Modernization: Society, Institutional Change and Population] (Ankara: İmge Press, 2002), 81. 4 N. Berkes, The Development of Secularism in Turkey (Montreal: McGill University Press, 1969), 295; N. İrem, 'Undercurrents of European Modernity and the Foundations of Modern Turkish Conservatism: Bergsonism in Retrospect', Middle Eastern Studies 40, no. 4 (2004): 84–85. 2 The process that started in 1839 with the legal reform in the Ottoman state. Mustafa Reşit Pasha read an Imperial Order and started a set of legal reforms which marked the beginning of European‐style innovations in law, conscription, industry, education, trade and social life. 3 Some see this mental change in high‐level Ottomans as the beginning of secularism in the Ottoman Empire. However Karpat views this as a 'loss of traditional and cultural identity'; Karpat, 2002, 81. 6 Ş. Mardin, 'Turkish Islamic Exceptionalism Yesterday and Today: Continuity, Rupture and Reconstruction in Operational Codes', Turkish Studies 6, no. 2 (2005): 150. 5 K. Beydilli, Türk Bilim ve Matbaacılık Tarihinde Mühendishâne Matbaası ve Kütüphanesi (1776– 1826) [Engineering Press and Library in the History of Turkish Science and Printing] (İstanbul: Eren Press, 1995). 7 Ş. Mardin, Türkiye'de Din ve Siyaset, Makaleler 3 [Religion and Politics in Turkey, Articles 3] (Istanbul: İletişim Press, 2000), 266. 8 See, for 'Critics expression culture': A.W. Gouldner, The Future of the Intellectuals and the Rise of the New Class (London: Macmillan, 1979). 9 Mardin, 2000, 268. 10 J. Tully, Meaning and Context, Quentin Skinner and His Critics (Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press, 1988), 45, 46. 11 A.M. Kazamias, Education and Quest for Modernity in Turkey (Chicago, IL: University of Chicago Press, 1966); S. Turan, 'John Dewey's Report of 1924 and his Recommendations on the Turkish Educational System Revisited', History of Education, Journal of the History of the Education Society 29, no. 6 (2000): 546–547. 12 'Maarif Kongresi', Hâkimiyet‐i Milliye ['Congress of Education', National Sovereignty] (17 July 1921); Y. Akyüz, 'Atatürk ve 1921 Eğitim Kongresi', Cumhuriyet Döneminde Eğitim [Education in the Republic Period] (Ankara: A.Ü. Press, 1983), 89–103. 13 Atatürk'ün Söylev ve Demeçleri II [Atatürk's Speeches and Declarations] (Ankara: TTK Press, 1945), 196. 14 V. Bingöl, Atatürk'ün Mili Eğitimizle İlgili Düşünce ve Buyrukları [Atatürk's Ideas and Orders Dealing with National Education] (Ankara: TDK Press, 1970), 36. 15 E. Arslan, Atatürkçü Düşünce Siteminde Türk Eğitimi [Turkish Education in Atatürk's Idea System] (Diyarbakır: Dicle Üniversity Press, 1989), 38. 16 Bingöl, 1970, 37. 17 'Maarifimize UmÛmi İstikamet, Hamdullah Suphi Beyefendi Ne Diyorlar?', Hâkimiyet–i Milliye ['General Direction For Education, What does Hamdullah Suphi Say?', National Sovereignty] (27 October 1922). For Mustafa Kemal's ideas about education see: Mustafa Ergün, Atatürk Devri Türk Eğitimi [Turkish Education In Atatürk's Period] (Ankara: Ocak Press, 1997), 17. 18 Atatürk'ün Maarife Ait Direktifleri [Atatürk's Directives on Education] (İstanbul: Maarif Vekâleti Press, 1939), 11. 19 İbrahim Müteferrika (1670?–1747), born in Erdel (Erdély), was an eighteenth‐century Ottoman statesman and intellectual. He was the founder of the first Ottoman printing house. 20 F.R. Unat, Türkiye Eğitim Sisteminin Gelişmesine Tarihi Bir Bakış [A Historical Observation on the Development of the Turkish Educational System] (Ankara: MEB Press, 1964), 1–89. E.Z. Karal, Osmanlı Tarihi, V.5, Nizâm‐ı Cedid ve Tanzimat Devirleri (1789–1856) [Ottoman History] (Ankara: TTK Press, 1999). 21 N. Berkes, Türkiye'de Çağdaşlaşma [The Development of Secularism in Turkey] (İstanbul: YKY, 2002), 195. 22 B.C. Fortna, Mekteb‐i Hümayun, Osmanlı İmparatorluğunun Son Döneminde İslâm, Devlet ve Eğitim [Imperial Classroom: Islam, the State and Education in the Late Ottoman Empire] (İstanbul: İletişim Press 2005), 295; the role played by CUP members in Turkish political life are well examined in E.J. Zürcher, The Role of the Committee of Union Progress and in the Turkish Nationalist Movement (1905–1926) (Leiden, 1984). Again see: M.Ş. Hanioğlu, The Young Turks in Opposition (New York: Oxford University Press, 1995), 3. 23 Münif (Paşa). 'Ehemmiyet‐i Terbiye‐i Sıbyan', Mecmua‐yı FünÛn ['Importance of Child Education', The Journal of Sciences] (Cemaziyelevvel 1279/1866), no. 5: 176–185. 24 O. Kafadar, 'Cumhuriyet Dönemi Eğitim Tartışmaları', Modern Türkiye'de Siyasî Düşünce, Modernleşme ve Batıcılık ['Education Discussions in Republic Period', Political Thought In Modern Turkey, Modernization and Westernization] (İstanbul: İletişim Press, 2003), Vol. 3, 378. 25 Y. Aktay, 'Türkiye Siyasî Düşüncesinde Kayıp Halka' [Lost Ring in Turkey's Political Thought], Dîvân, İstanbul (2005), Vol. 19, 39–40. 26 G.N. Saqıb, Modernization of Muslim Education in Egypt, Pakistan and Turkey: A Comparative Study (Lahore, Pakistan: Islamic Book Service, 1983). 27 Atatürk's Directives on Education, 15. 28 İ. Sungu, 'Tevhidi Tedrisat' [Law of Unification of Instruction], Belleten, Ankara (1938), II. Vol. 7, 8, 397–431. 29 From S. Turan, 2000, 550. 30 'The reports of the envoys had a "positivistic" flavor, which recreated another shared tacit element, that of the bureaucrats' discourse…. The entire reform movement of the Tanzimat was based on the positivistic view of the social engineer.' Mardin, 2005, 150. 31 Abdullah Cevdet, 'Kıvâm‐ı Akvam,' İştihâd, İstanbul (5 February 1914), no. 90–1, 2016; Again see: M. Gündüz, II. Meşrutiyet'in Klasik Paradigmaları, İçtihad, Sebilü'r‐Reşad ve Türk Yurdu'nda Toplumsal Tezler [Classical Paradigms of the Second Constitution, Social Thesis in İctihat, Sebilü'r‐Reşad and Türk Yurdu Journals] (Ankara: 1997, Lotus Press). 32 Abdullah Cevdet published extensively on American and European schools. For the best known, see: O. Buyse, Methodes Americaines d'Education Generale et Technique (UmÛmî ve Âli Amerika Terbiye UsÛlleri), trans. Abdullah Cevdet (İstanbul: Matbaa‐i Âmire, 1925, 1926). 33 Y. Akyüz, 'Türk Eğitim Tarihi Açısından Öğretim Birliği ve Tevhid‐i Tedrisat'ın Önemi (The Importance of the Law of Unification of Instruction for Turkish Education History) (Ankara: A.Ü. Press, 2002), 39. 34 In Turkish Lâiklik, laicism is one of the basic principles underlying the political ideology of the Republican People's Party (1931) (Cumhuriyet Halk Partisi CHP) and later incorporated into the Constitution of 1937. It signifies the ideology of 'secularism' and the secularisation policies of the Republican period. 35 Berkes, 1969, 18; B. Lewis, The Emergency of Modern Turkey (London: Royal Institute of International Affairs, Oxford University Press, 1961), 397. 36 Lewis, 1961, 396. 37 Ahmed Rıza. Maarif‐i UmÛmiyenin Islahına Dair Sultan Abdülhamid Han‐ı Sani Hazretlerine Takdim Kılınan Altı Layihadan Birincisi [The First of the Six Reports that were Presented to Abdülhamid II for General Educational Reform] (London: 1312/1886), 5. 38 M.Ş. Hanioğlu, Bir Siyasal Düşünür Olarak Abdullah Cevdet ve Dönemi [Abdullah Cevdet as a Political Thinker and His Times] (İstanbul: Üçdal Neşriyat, 1981), 370; Cevdet said that his ideas had occurred during Republic, see: Abdullah Cevdet, 'Mustafa Kemal Paşa ve İlgâ‐yı Esâret', İçtihad, İstanbul (1 September 1925), no. 188, 3706. 39 Emile Durkheim, L'Education Morale (Paris: Librairie Felix Alcan, 1925), 3: Reported by M. Korlaelçi, Pozitivizmin Türkiye'ye Girişi ve İlk Etkileri [The Introduction of Positivism in Turkey and Its First Impacts] (Ankara: Hece Press, 2002), 40. 40 E. Yıldırım, 'Türk Sosyolojisinde Pozitivizm: Bilginin Sosyolojik Tasarımı (1908–1945)', Sosyoloji Araştırmaları Dergisi ['Positivism in Turkish Sociology, Sociological Design of Knowledge, 1908–1945', Journal of Sociological Research], Ankara (2004/1), 117. 41 Yıldırım, 2004, 113. 42 İ. H. Baltacıoğlu, Batıya Doğru [West Wards] (İstanbul: MEB Press, 1945), 90. 43 T.‐H. Wong, 'Education and State Formation Reconsidered: Chinese School Identity in Postwar Singapore', Journal of Historical Sociology 16, no. 2 (2003): 237–265. 44 Andrew Green, Education and State Formation, the Rise of Education System in England, France and the USA (London: Macmillan, 1990). 45 M. Lamberti, State, Society and the Elementary School in Imperial Germany (New York: Oxford University Press, 1981). 46 S.A. Somel, The Modernization of Public Education in the Ottoman Empire, 1839–1908: Islamization, Autocracy and Discipline (Leiden: Brill Academic Publishers, 2001). 47 Wong, 2003, 237–265. 48 D. M. Ment,. 'Education, Nation‐Building and Modernization After World War I: American Ideas for the Peace Conference', Paedagogica Historica 41, nos 1&2 (2005): 170. 49 Green, 1990, 1. 50 Green, 1990, 15–20; 'In the 17th century, the Ottoman state and social structure had as much potential as other countries for the industrial revolution and the capitalist order. However, the transition to capitalism did not happen as factors such as migration and the increasing population could not be matched to the new economic developments and the capital order could not be matched to the society.' Karpat, 2002, 38. 51 Fortna, 2005. 52 A.S. Barak, 'Turkish Education and Democracy, 1923–50', Middle Eastern Studies, USA 40, no. 2 (2004): 85. 53 Green, 1990, 36. 54 E. Ülker, 'Contextualising 'Turkification': Nation‐building in the Late Ottoman Empire 1908–18', Nations and Nationalism, UK 11, no. 4 (2005): 632. 55 Salmoni, 2004, 83. 56 There are some studies into the origins of Kemalist thought. Andrew Mango and Erik‐Jan Zurcher's studies are well known among these: A. Mango, Atatürk, The Biography of the Founder of Modern Turkey (New York: Press Overlook by Press Overlook, 2002); E.‐J. Zurcher, Turkey, A Modern History (London & New York: I. B. Tauris, 1993); Lewis, 1961. 57 Kafadar, 2003, 352. 58 E.‐J. Zürcher, 'Ottoman Sources of Kemalist Thought', in Late Ottoman Society, The Intellectual Legacy, ed. E. Özdalga (London and New York: RoutledgeCurzon, 2005), 16. 59 U. Heyd, Foundations of Turkish Nationalism; the Life and Teachings of Ziya Gokalp (London: Luzac & Co. and the Harvill Press, 1950), 140–155; Zürcher, 'Ottoman Sources of Kemalist Thought', 17. 60 F. Georgeon, Osmanlı Türk Modernleşmesi (1900–1930) [The Modernization of Ottoman Turkish], trans. Ali Berktay (İstanbul: YKY, 2006), 95. 61 A system of labour arrangements in which labour unions and capitalists jointly set wages below market clearing levels. This arrangement is traditionally enforced through employer organisations. 62 Z. Toprak, 'Halkçılık İdeolojisinin Oluşumu', Atatürk Döneminin Ekonomik ve Toplumsal Tarihiyle İlgili Sorunlar Sempozyumu (İstanbul: 1977), 13–31; Ö. Gökmen, 'Tek Parti Dönemi Cumhuriyet Halk Partisinde Muhafazakâr Yönelimler', Modern Türkiye'de Siyasi Düşünce [Political Thought in Modern Turkey] (İstanbul: İletişim Press, 2003), Vol. 5, 147. 63 The Tatar modernization movement in Kazan, Turkistan, Samarkand and Middle Asia during the late nineteenth century. 64 Ali Bey was born in Baku in 1864. He came to Istanbul and taught in the Military Medical School, where he disseminated his ideas among the students who were the founders of the Young Turks movement. He wrote many poems and books. Later, he returned to Baku and published newspapers and magazines. He worked for the union of Turks and for the survival of the Ottoman State. He died in Istanbul in 1940. 65 Abdullah Cevdet, 'İhya‐yı La YemÛt', İçtihad, Cairo no. 5 (February 1908): 294–295. 66 Heyd, 1950, 149. 67 For Ağaoğlu's affect on the new Turkey and his life, works; see: H. Shissler, Between Two Empires, Ahmet Agaoglu and the New Turkey (London and New York: I.B. Tauris, 2003); F. Sakal, Ağaoğlu Ahmed Bey (Ankara: TTK Press, 1999). 68 Kemalism: Mustafa Kemal's and the new Republic of Turkey's official ideology. There are six fundamentals of the ideology; republicanism, populism, nationalism, statism, revolutionalism and secularism. 69 Georgeon, 1996, 95; Zürcher, 2005, 21. 70 Ahmet Hilmi, was born in Filibe in 1865 and died in Istanbul in 1914. He was a late Ottoman Islamist intellectual. He had written the long and widely disproved 'History of İslâm' (İslâm Tarihi) for famous orientalist Reinhart Pieter Anne Dozy's book 'Essai Sur l'histoire de l'İslamisme' (Tarih‐i İslâmiyet). He defended spiritualism as opposed to materialism. 71 Atatürk'ün Hatıra Defteri [The Diary of Atatürk], prepared by Ş. Tezer (Ankara: TTK Press, 1999), 83; D. Kushner, The Rise of Turkish Nationalism 1876–1908 (London: Frank Cass, 1977). 72 Ş. Turan, Atatürk'ün Düşünce Yapısını Etkileyen Olaylar, Düşünceler, Kitaplar [Events, Ideas and Books that Shaped Atatürk's Ideas] (Ankara:TTK Press, 1999), 52. 73 Abdullah Cevdet, 'Fas Hükümet‐i İslâmiye'sinin İnkırâzı'('Decline of Islamic Morocco Government'), Cenevre, İçtihad no. 5 (April 1905): 70; Mehmed Âkif, 'Mev'ıza'('Subjects'), Sebilü'r‐Reşad, İstanbul 9, no. 230 (6 February 1913): 375; Atatürk'ün Söylev ve Demeçleri [Atatürk's Speeches and Declarations] (Ankara: TTK Press, 1952), Vol. 2, 450, Changes in ideas can be compared in these pages. 74 H. Umunç, 'The Universal Values of Atatürk's Educational Policy', Atatürk Araştırma Merkezi Dergisi [Journal of Atatürk Research Center], Ankara 8, no. 22 (November 1991): 33–37. 75 These effects can be seen in his book (Medenî Bilgiler) which he wrote for middle schools. See: İnan, Afet. Medenî Bilgiler ve Atatürk'ün El Yazıları [Civil Knowledge and Atatürk's Manuscripts] (Ankara: TTK Press, 1969), 51. 76 S. Turan, 2000, 15 and 19. 77 İ. H. Baltacıoğlu, Atatürk [Ataturk] (Erzurum: Atatürk Üniversity Press, 1973), 12. 78 S. Turan, 2000, 547; C. Cahen, Introduction, in John Dewey: The Middle Work, 1899–1924, Vol. 15, 1923–1924, ed. J.A. Boydston (Carbondale: Southern Illinois University Press, 1983), xx. 79 Mustafa Kemal's social ideas were similar to Durkheim's sociological theories. He even translated a few of his books. Compare Mustafa Kemal's social ideas with Education Morale and De la Division du Travail Social. 80 S. Turan, 2000, 554. 81 S. Büyükdüvenci, 'John Dewey's Impact on Turkish Education', in The New Scholarship on Dewey, ed. J. Garrison Dordrecht (Dordrecht: Kluwer, 1995), 230. 82 Abdullah Cevdet, 'Tercüme Tercüme'['Translation Translation'], İçtihad, İstanbul no. 156 (1 August 1329/1923): 3211; again see: Berkes, 1969, 441. 83 S. Turan, 2000, 29. 84 Büyükdüvenci, 1995. 85 S. Turan, 2000, 37, 43, 47. 86 M.E. Erişirgil, 'Kuvvetli Münevver Zümre Nasıl Yetişir?' [How to Raise an Effective Intellectual Class?], İstanbul, Hayat no. 6 (6 January 1927): 105. 87 H.Z. Ülken, 'Nietzsche Ahlakı' ['Morale of Nietzsche')], Cogito, İstanbul no. 25 (2001): 286. 88 H.Z. Ülken, Türkiye'de Çağdaş Düşünce Tarihi [History of Modern Thought in Turkey] (İstanbul: Ülken Press, 2001), 477. 89 Ibid., 450. 90 İ.H. Baltacıoğlu, İçtimai Mekteb Nazariyesi ve Prensipleri [The Theory of Social School and Principles] (İstanbul: Suhulet Press, 1933), 53–55; For Rousseau's ideas, see: J.J. Rousseau, Émile ou de L'éducation. 91 Ülken, Türkiye'de Çağdaş Düşünce Tarihi, 452. 92 İrem, 2004, 81. 93 Later Mümtaz Turhan and Nurettin Topcu followed Mustafa Sekip Tunç. These two were the leaders of nationalist and conservatives groups in arranging the educational system around Bergson's philosophy which became effective after the 1970s. 94 See: For his life and educational works: M. Şahin, Hayatı ve Düşünceleriyle Mustafa Rahmi Balaban [Mustafa Rahmi Balaban's Life and Thoughts] (Ankara: Phonix Press, 2005). 95 (M). Rahmi, Gazi Paşa Hazretlerinin Maarif Umdesi ve Asri Terbiye [Education Principles of Gazi Pasha and Contemporary Education and Instruction] (Ankara: MEB Press, 1923), 5. 96 M. Rahmi, 'Yeni Terbiye UsÛlleri', Türk Yurdu, İstanbul 4, no. 104 (25 February 1331/1915): 348. 97 G. Kerschensteiner, Vatandaşlık Terbiyesi [Citizenship Education], trans. H. Raşid (İstanbul: Kanaat Library, 1931). 98 Sungu, 'Proje Usulü', Terbiye ['Project Method', Training], İstanbul no. 3 (March 1927): 195. 99 'The intellectual ideas of the Second Constitutional Period would be considered plagiarism according to today's ethics.' Hanioğlu, M. Şükrü, 'Blueprints for a Future Society: Late Ottoman Materialists on Science, Religion and Art', in Late Ottoman Society, The Intellectual Legacy, ed. E. Özdalga (London and New York: Routledge Curzon, 2005), 29. 100 D. Schnappeer, La France de l'Intégration, trans. F. Üstel (İstanbul: Dost Press, 2002), 217. 101 F. Üstel, 'Türkiye Cumhuriyeti'nde Resmî Yurttaş Profilinin Evrimi', in Modern Türkiye'de Siyasî Düşünce, Milliyetçilik [Political Thought in Modern Turkey, Nationalism] (İstanbul: İletişim Press, 2002), Vol. 4, 276. 102 İ.Hakkı. 'Ecnebî Mütehassıslar', Akşam, İstanbul (20 June 1924). 103 M. Ş. Hanioğlu, 'Kavramlar Yorumlanmamalı, Tartışılmamalı mı? (II)', Zaman, İstanbul (19 May 2007). (To date, no study has been conducted on the impact of Jules Ferry's positivism on Turkish education and thought. No reference has been made to Ferry in either the texts of late Ottoman intellectuals or in the works of modern Turkish thought researchers). 104 Zürcher, 2005, 24. 105 Zürcher, 2005, 25. 106 F. Georgeon, Türk Milliyetçiliğinin Kökenleri, Yusuf Akçura (1876–1935) [Aux Origines du Nationalisme Turc Yusuf Akçura (1876–1935)] (İstanbul: Tarih Vakfı Press, 1999), A. Sosyolojik Türkiye'de ve Modernleşme and in Turkey from a Sociological Press, After the the influence of modern Middle Eastern Islamic intellectuals became in Turkey. This to the of a new Islamic in the which was from the traditional Islamic This movement started with the of the works of and and into This new intellectual movement in the political after the for this İ. Düşünce Açısından ve of into and Impact from the of History of Araştırmaları [Journal of İstanbul no. 9 (March Ziya of no. 13 N. Sosyoloji to France Social School of of (Ankara: A.Ü. Press, 5. Ziya ve and New İstanbul no. 12 Berkes, 1969, Korlaelçi, Ş. Mardin, Siyasi [Political Ideas of Young (İstanbul: İletişim Press, 2001), Mardin, Türkiye Nasıl ve [How can Turkey be (İstanbul: Press, Abdullah Cevdet, Bir İçtihad, İstanbul no. and Hanioğlu, 2005, Hanioğlu, M. Şükrü, Bir Bir Abdullah Cevdet ve Modern Türk İstanbul September 2005). Abdullah Cevdet, İçtihad, İstanbul no. 5 1905): The first of this was by Münif Paşa in the He texts from philosophers in his book Hanioğlu, 2005, Ibid., 39. Hanioğlu, Bir Bir September 2005). Hanioğlu, 2005, Ibid., Hanioğlu, Bir Bir 16 September 2005). Bey many and educational his to the Turkish educational system have not been It is that this is of his nationalist after the First World Ülken, Türkiye'de Çağdaş Düşünce Tarihi, Ibid., For the (İstanbul: Press, Düşüncesinde in Sociological (Ankara: Press, 1973), Hanioğlu, 2005, 37. Korlaelçi, 2002, ve of İstanbul no. 6 M. Türkiye'ye Girişi ve İlk Etkileri [The Introduction of to Turkey and First (Ankara: Press, 1988), N. Türkiye'de in Turkey, First (İstanbul: Press, Berkes, 1969, O. [The of the (İstanbul: Press, Mardin, 2005, Ş. Mardin, Türkiye'de ve and Politics in Turkey] (İstanbul: İletişim Press,

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