Education of Thinking as a Path to Virtue and Happiness in Qutadghu Bilig Abstract Thinking is one of the most distinguishing characteristics of humans. Man/woman can understand through thinking, find his/her way through thinking, and solve inherent problems after giving some thought. Any educational activity, regardless of its type, initially aims to train the ability of our thinking. Thus although there are relatively new definitions such as “education of thinking”, “philosophy with kids”, “critical and creative thinking skills” education of thinking is in reality as ancient as the roots of humanity. The reason activities such as knowing, understanding, living, and creating value collectively delineate man’s main mission on the earth. Scholars, philosophers, ethicists, scientists, and educators are those who contribute to the development of thinking ability. Currently, training of the mind within the frameset of goodness values, to create a culture of living and worldview, and eventually liberating and improving the person is among the key objectives of education of thinking. Education of thinking does not merely consist of philosophy or pedagogy; it is the combination of both. According to philosophical tradition, activity such as ‘education of thinking’ and ‘philosophy for children’ are structured related with philosophers Socrates, Plato, Aristotle, Rousseau, Kant, and Dewey. Through this approach, which enables reconstructing Western philosophers’ views with respect to ‘education of thinking’, ‘philosophy for children’ is similarly viable to reconstruct the works of Eastern philosophers. One of these works is Qutadghu Bilig written by Yousuf Khass Khajib. Qutadghu Bilig is an outstanding literary work that aims to educate thinking ability and discipline emotions, behaviours and personality through highlighted values. This work attempts to answer the question of how to make qut , a coincidental and luck-based condition, which means ‘gizmo, fate, fortune, happiness’ and represents a state of goodness of people who have a temporary existence. Qutadghu Bilig asks whether qut can become a permanent entity in human, social and political life and whether it is achievable at all. This literary work attributes the continuity of qut to virtues such as knowledge, justice, forgiveness, compassion, generosity, tenderness, patience and perseverance. To ensure the continuity of qut requires such a higher mental state and spiritual dignity. That is only viable through educating and activating one's thinking ability. Kutadgu Bilig’de Erdem ve Mutluluk Yolu Olarak Dusunme Egitimi Oz Dusunme, insanin en ayirici vasiflarindan biridir. Insan, dusunerek anlar, dusunerek yolunu bulur, dusunerek sorunlarini cozer. Hangi egitim faaliyeti olursa olsun, oncelikle dusunme yetisini egitmeyi amaclar. Bu nedenle “dusunme egitimi”, “cocuklarla felsefe”, “elestirel ve yaratici dusunme becerileri” gibi adlandirmalar nispeten yeni olsa da, dusunme egitimi aslinda insanin tarihi kadar eskidir. Bunun boyle olmasinin nedeni, bilme, anlama, yasama, deger uretme faaliyetlerinin insanin yeryuzundeki temel konumunu tanimliyor olmasidir. Bilgeler, filozoflar, ahlakcilar, bilim adamlari ve egitimciler, dusunme yetisinin terbiyesine katkida bulunan kisilerdir. Bugun de zihnin, iyilik degerleri cercevesinde, bir yasama kulturu ve dunya gorusu doguracak, nihayetinde bireyin otonomisini saglayacak ve gelistirecek sekilde egitilmesi, dusunme egitiminin temel hedefleri arasindadir. Dusunme egitimi salt felsefeden ya da salt pedagojiden olusmaz; her ikisinden de olusur. Felsefe gelenegi acisindan bakildiginda, “dusunme egitimi”, “cocuklarla felsefe” gibi etkinliklerin Sokrates, Platon, Aristoteles, Rousseau, Kant, Dewey gibi filozoflara geri goturulerek yapilandirildigi gorulebilir. Soz konusu yaklasim acisindan nasil ki Batili filozoflarin gorusleri “dusunme egitimi”, “cocuklar icin felsefe” kapsaminda yeniden okunup degerlendiriliyorsa ayni sekilde dogulu filozoflarin/bilgelerin eserleri de okunabilir. Iste bu eserlerden biri, Kutadgu Bilig ’dir. 1069 yilinda, Karahanli devletinde “has haciblik” (halkin sorunlariyla ilgilenen ve bu sorunlardan Hakani haberdar eden kisi) gorevinde bulunmus olan Yusuf Has Hacib tarafindan yazilan eser, oncelikle dusunme yetisini egitmek, one cikardigi degerlerle duygulari, davranislari ve kisiligi terbiye etmek isteyen bir calisma niteligindedir. Soz konusu eser, rastlantisal ve sansa bagli bir durum olan; “ugur, baht, talih, mutluluk, devlet” gibi anlamlara gelen ve gelip gecici bir varlik olan insanin yeryuzundeki iyilik hâlini ifade eden kut ’u, birey, toplum ve devlet hayatinda nasil surekli hâle getirebiliriz, bunun bir yolu var midir, sorusuna cevap arar ve kutun surekliligini, bilgi, adâlet, bagislayicilik, merhamet, comertlik, yumusak huyluluk, sabir, metanet gibi erdem degerlerinde bulur. Kut ’u surekli kilmak boyle bir zihin durumunu ve ruh yuceligini gerektirir. Bu da ancak dusunme yetisini egitmek ve etkin hâle getirmekle gerceklesebilir.