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Celebrating Philosophy |
UNESCO
launched World Philosophy Day in 2002 to highlight the importance of philosophical
thinking and to create connections between philosophers and the public. Every year,
UNESCO's World Philosophy Day is celebrated to share with people the importance and
relevancy of philosophy.
The Department of Philosophy presented Philosophy Day 2006 marking UNESCO's World
Philosophy Day on November 17th and welcomed several Bilkent speakers including Assistant
Professors Sandrine Berges, Ömer Faruk Gençkaya, Lucas Thorpe, Emre Özgen, Mark Steen,
David Thornton, Mustafa Nakeeb, and Sandy Berkovski. This second annual Philosophy Day was
dedicated to the memory of Faruk Selçuk, from the Department of Economics, and Thomas
Winter and İrem Balkır from the Department of American Culture and Literature.
Philosophy Day began with an elegant opening address by Prof. Talat Halman, Dean of the
Faculty of Humanities and Letters.
Social scientists shared their philosophical views with lovers of philosophy to shed new
light on philosophical thinking for the sake of humanity. Ömer Faruk Gençkaya (POLS), in
his speech "Politics and Philosophy in Turkey" argued "A philosophical
approach may enable a politician to discover the reality, human beings and other relevant
issues as a whole, to understand the relationship between an individual and society and
the universe. Thus, he can design his future in a better fashion, which is a vital element
for a politician who would like to be effective and a leader of society." Another
speaker, Sandrine Berges, from the Department of Philosophy, stated "To evaluate an
act one has to ask not 'was this what I ought to have done?' but instead to ask 'what kind
of light does my action throw on my character?' This movement towards Aristotelian virtue
ethics can be observed not only among women who write philosophy, but also among women who
write crime fiction."
As Socrates traveled on the road of Philosophy for the sake of traveling and not in order
to arrive at any destination or answers, we too should look for the questions rather than
the answers. Philosophy teaches people how to think, imagine and interpret social life. It
is hoped that people will begin to recognize the value of philosophy outside of lecture
halls and elite circles as a means to end conflict and nurture peace.(Figen
Gökşen/IV)
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