BABANZÂDE AHMED NAİM'İN İLMÎ VE FELSEFÎ KİŞİLİĞİ ÜZERİNE

Abstract

Babanzâde Ahmed Naim is one of the most preeminent scholars who lived during the last years of the Ottoman Empire and the first years of the Republic of Turkey. Babanzâde, a thinker who worked as a translator, writer, government officer, Arabic teacher, also was a professor of philosophy at Darulfunun. Throughout his time as a professor, he gave lectures on metaphysics, logic, morality, aphorism, psycology and philosophy, and he translated many articles and books on these subjects by French thinkers such as G. Fonsegrive, Paul Janet, Emile Picard, Elie Rabier. He also was a member of Istilahat-i Ilmiyye Encumeni, and Telif ve Tercume and played an important role in these chembers’ activities. According to the thinker, the most important reason why philosophy did not take foot in the Ottoman Empire in 19th and 20th centuries and philosophical publications fell short is the fact that philosophical terminology was not consolidated. Babanzâde, who has served in various commitees established for the solution of this problem, also produced some other work on his own. He found Turkish equivelants to near two thousand philosophy/psychology terms in his translation of Mebâdi-i Felsefeden Ilmu’n-Nefs from G. Fonsegrive. Bâbanzade, who expressed his views in his translations and publications on the fact that modern Turkish lacked philosophical terms, critized views emerging from several movements such as materialism, positivism, rationalism. The aim of this study is to introduce the scientific aspect of Babanzâde, to reveal his studies and philosophical personality regarding the terminology of philosophy.