Whose Science? A Preliminary Study on Kevâkib-i Seb'a and the Scholar's Rhetoric

Year 2022, Volume: 23 Issue: 1, 69 - 102, 01.01.2022

Fezanur Karaağaçlıoğlu

https://doi.org/10.26650/oba.987413

Abstract

The primary aim of this article is to date the treatise known as Kevâkib-i Seb‘a, which describes the Ottoman sciences for a French audience, to 1739 by examining the letters of Charles de Peyssonnel, secretary to the French ambassador in Istanbul, Marquis de Villeneuve. It also draws attention to a remark by the anonymous author of the treatise on the science of geometry and geography. In order to interpret it, the present study seeks to understand how the author of the treatise presents “ilm”, i.e. science/knowledge, and argues that the remark constitutes a contradictory statement to his previous descriptions and reasoning. It comes to the conclusion that this remark can be regarded as a strategy by the author to defend the imagined prestige of the Ottoman Muslim identity.

Keywords

Kevâkib-i Seb‘a, 18th century, Ottomans’ perception of the Europeans, Ottoman/Muslim self-perception, science/knowledge

Kimin İlmi? Kevâkib-i Seb‘a ve Alim Retoriği Üzerine Bir Deneme

Abstract

Bu makale öncelikle Kevakib-i Seb'a olarak bilinen Osmanlı'da öğretilen ilimler üzerine Fransa'ya yollanmak için yazılan eserin tarihini dönemin Fransız elçisi Villeneuve'ün sekreterinin mektuplarını inceleyerek 1739 yBu makalenin öncelikli amacı Kevâkib-i Seb‘a olarak bilinen ve Osmanlı’da öğretilen ilimleri tanıtmak amacıyla Fransa’ya yollanmak için yazılan eseri, dönemin Fransız elçisi Villeneuve’ün sekreteri Charles de Peyssonnel’in mektuplarını inceleyerek 1739 yılına tarihlendirmektir. Makalenin diğer amacı ise yazar tarafından geometri ve coğrafya üzerine yapılan ilginç yoruma dikkat çekmektir. Makale, bu yorumu anlamak için önce eser içindeki “ilm” anlayışını aydınlatmaya çalışır ve yazarın genel anlatısı ile çelişkiye düştüğü görülen bu yorumun, varsayılan Osmanlı Müslüman kimliğinin prestijini korumak için yazar tarafından yapılan bir hamle olduğunu savunur.ılı olarak bildirmektedir. Eseri inceledikten sonra hendese ilmi üzerine yazarın yaptığı ilginç yorumun nedenine dair önerilerde bulunmaktadır. Avrupa algısı ve Osmanlı/Müslüman algısının bu yorumda önemli bir rolü olduğunun altı çizilmektedir.

Keywords

Kevâkib-i Seb‘a, 18. yüzyıl, Osmanlıların Avrupa algısı, Osmanlı/Müslüman algısı, ilm/bilgi

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