Admonitions for Writing History of Science in the Islamic and Ottoman Period: Cevdet Pasha’s Critique of Ahmed Midhat’s Tarih-i Ulûm

Kenan Tekin

Makale detayları

Admonitions for Writing History of Science in the Islamic and Ottoman Period: Cevdet Pasha’s Critique of Ahmed Midhat’s Tarih-i Ulûm

Yazarlar:

Kenan Tekin

Yayıncı:

Istanbul University

Ana Başlıklar:

Genel Türk Tarihi (Diğer)

Dergi:

Osmanlı Bilimi Araştırmaları Vol.24 Issue 2, pp.801-840

Belge Tipi:

Makale

Yayın Tarihi:

6/2023

Belge Dili:

Türkçe

Document ID (Org No.):

2001298028

pISSN:

1303-3123

Anahtar kelimeler:

Özet:

 Various late Ottoman contributions to the history of science have been identified as pioneering works in the field. However, contributions from two late Ottoman intellectuals, namely Ahmed Cevdet Pasha d.1895 and Ahmed Midhat Efendi d.1912, have hitherto been neglected. In fact, both wrote works that dealt with the history of science. Cevdet Pasha translated the last chapter of Ibn Khalduns d. 1406 Muqaddimah, which he considered as a kind of history of science and made original contributions to the account, while Ahmed Midhat translated John Drapers d.1882 History of the Conflict between Religion and Science, which contains Midhats own addendums. This paper, however, draws attention to one work that brings together Ahmed Cevdets and Ahmed Midhats interest in the history of science, Cevdets review of Ahmed Midhats unpublished work titled Tarih-i Ulûm The History of the Sciences. Cevdet Pashas draft review of Tarih-i Ulûm is actually preserved in the Ottoman Archives in Istanbul. By considering Cevdets acute analysis of some concepts such as ilm science, fann discipline, maârif knowledge of particulars, sınâat arts, and sanat crafts and his still relevant warnings for writing about the history of science in the Islamic and Ottoman periods, I closely analyze the review and provide a transcription of the document in the addendum. I conclude that Cevdet Pashas review indicates that late Ottoman laudatory and many times critical reviews taqrīds contain narratives about the history of science and thus should be placed within that literature.

 Various late Ottoman contributions to the history of science have been identified as pioneering works in the field. However, contributions from two late Ottoman intellectuals, namely Ahmed Cevdet Pasha d.1895 and Ahmed Midhat Efendi d.1912, have hitherto been neglected. In fact, both wrote works that dealt with the history of science. Cevdet Pasha translated the last chapter of Ibn Khalduns d. 1406 Muqaddimah, which he considered as a kind of history of science and made original contributions to the account, while Ahmed Midhat translated John Drapers d.1882 History of the Conflict between Religion and Science, which contains Midhats own addendums. This paper, however, draws attention to one work that brings together Ahmed Cevdets and Ahmed Midhats interest in the history of science, Cevdets review of Ahmed Midhats unpublished work titled Tarih-i Ulûm The History of the Sciences. Cevdet Pashas draft review of Tarih-i Ulûm is actually preserved in the Ottoman Archives in Istanbul. By considering Cevdets acute analysis of some concepts such as ilm science, fann discipline, maârif knowledge of particulars, sınâat arts, and sanat crafts and his still relevant warnings for writing about the history of science in the Islamic and Ottoman periods, I closely analyze the review and provide a transcription of the document in the addendum. I conclude that Cevdet Pashas review indicates that late Ottoman laudatory and many times critical reviews taqrīds contain narratives about the history of science and thus should be placed within that literature.

 Various late Ottoman contributions to the history of science have been identified as pioneering works in the field. However, contributions from two late Ottoman intellectuals, namely Ahmed Cevdet Pasha d.1895 and Ahmed Midhat Efendi d.1912, have hitherto been neglected. In fact, both wrote works that dealt with the history of science. Cevdet Pasha translated the last chapter of Ibn Khalduns d. 1406 Muqaddimah, which he considered as a kind of history of science and made original contributions to the account, while Ahmed Midhat translated John Drapers d.1882 History of the Conflict between Religion and Science, which contains Midhats own addendums. This paper, however, draws attention to one work that brings together Ahmed Cevdets and Ahmed Midhats interest in the history of science, Cevdets review of Ahmed Midhats unpublished work titled Tarih-i Ulûm The History of the Sciences. Cevdet Pashas draft review of Tarih-i Ulûm is actually preserved in the Ottoman Archives in Istanbul. By considering Cevdets acute analysis of some concepts such as ilm science, fann discipline, maârif knowledge of particulars, sınâat arts, and sanat crafts and his still relevant warnings for writing about the history of science in the Islamic and Ottoman periods, I closely analyze the review and provide a transcription of the document in the addendum. I conclude that Cevdet Pashas review indicates that late Ottoman laudatory and many times critical reviews taqrīds contain narratives about the history of science and thus should be placed within that literature.

 Son dönem Osmanlıda bilim tarihiyle ilgili yazılan birçok eser alandaki ilk eser olarak değerlendirilmiştir. Kanaatimizce son dönem Osmanlı bilim tarihinin ilkleri arasında zikredilmeye değer iki yazar ve eserleri göz ardı edilmiştir. Bunlar İbn Haldunun ö. 1406 Mukaddimesinin bilimlerin tanıtımı ve tarihiyle ilgili altıncı bölümünü özgün katkılarıyla tercüme eden Ahmed Cevdet Paşa ö.1895 ile John Draperın ö. 1882 din ve bilim arasındaki ilişkilere bilim tarihi merkezli yaklaşımını kendi katkılarıyla Nizâ-ı İlm u Dîn adıyla tercüme eden Ahmed Midhat Efendidir ö.1912. Bu makalede, her iki düşünürümüzün bilim tarihiyle ilgili katkılarını buluşturan Ahmed Midhat Efendinin Tarih-i Ulûm adlı eserine Cevdet Paşanın T.C. Cumhurbaşkanlığı Devlet Arşivleri Başkanlığı Osmanlı Arşivinde müsvedde halinde bulunan değerlendirmelerini incelemekteyiz. Cevdet Paşanın değerlendirmelerinin ilim, fen, maarif, ve sanat gibi kavramların yerinde kullanımı, Osmanlı bilim tarihi yazımında katkıları olan ilim adamlarının atlanmaması, bilim tarihiyle ilgili önemli kaynakların dikkate alınması gibi günümüz bilim tarihi yazımı için bile geçerliliğini sürdüren bazı ihtarlar içerdiğini ortaya koymaktayız. Cevdet Paşanın değerlendirme yazısı üzerinden, son dönem Osmanlı bilim tarihi literatürü üzerine yapılan taramalarda kitap değerlendirmelerinin de dikkate alması gerektiğine işaret etmekteyiz. Makalenin ekinde, incelenen değerlendirmenin çeviri yazısını neşretmekteyiz.

Makale detayları

Admonitions for Writing History of Science in the Islamic and Ottoman Period: Cevdet Pasha’s Critique of Ahmed Midhat’s Tarih-i Ulûm

Yazarlar:

Kenan Tekin

Yayıncı:

Istanbul University

Ana Başlıklar:

Genel Türk Tarihi (Diğer)

Dergi:

Osmanlı Bilimi Araştırmaları Vol.24 Issue 2, pp.801-840

Belge Tipi:

Makale

Yayın Tarihi:

6/2023

Belge Dili:

Türkçe

Document ID (Org No.):

2001298028

pISSN:

1303-3123

Ahmed Cevdet

Ahmed Midhat

Ottoman History of Science

Islamic Science

‘Ilm

Fann

San‘at

Tarih-i UlûmAhmed Cevdet Paşa

Ahmed Midhat Efendi

Osmanlı bilim tarihi

İslam’da bilim

İlim

Fen

Sanat

Tarih-i Ulûm

Sayı

Makale detayları

Yazarlar: Kenan Tekin

Yayıncı: Istanbul University

Ana Başlıklar: Genel Türk Tarihi (Diğer)

Dergi: Osmanlı Bilimi Araştırmaları Vol.24 Issue 2, pp.801-840

Belge Tipi: Makale

Yayın Tarihi: 6/2023

Belge Dili: Türkçe

Document ID (Org No.): 2001298028

pISSN: 1303-3123

Sayı

Yazarlar:

Kenan Tekin

Yayıncı:

Istanbul University

Ana Başlıklar:

Genel Türk Tarihi (Diğer)

Dergi:

Osmanlı Bilimi Araştırmaları Vol.24 Issue 2, pp.801-840

Belge Tipi:

Makale

Yayın Tarihi:

6/2023

Belge Dili:

Türkçe

Document ID (Org No.):

2001298028

pISSN:

1303-3123