Fəlsəfə tarixi
13
freedom of creativity. In Turkic Islamic world preserved ethical Turkic code
was cracked by a next philosophic generation and harmoniously flowed into
philosophic trends absorbing new time but simultaneously preserving its
Turkic origin. In the same manner works of Abu Nasr Al Farabi, the utmost
theorist of medieval Islamic philosophy, for a long time were interpreted as
exceptionally Islamic, outside their Turkic component (what is meant here is
a philosophic component), but today they are viewed as a doctrine that con-
tains a Turkic way of philosophizing which is determined by a dialogue na-
ture of its philosophy, exceptional openness and philosophic tolerance to-
wards other philosophic systems, rational substantiation and desire to come
to the point in everything. Having flowed into Islamic rational paradigm
Turkic rationality revealed axiological aspects of a category of mind
through sensitivity and morality through mind. In Al Farabi’s philosophy
moral philosophy simultaneously turns into philosophy of morality. Al Fa-
rabi believed that fundamental framework of a society is morality and in his
famous Opinions of the residents of a splendid city he made no attempt to
enforce moral categories on residents as a back-breaking load, instead he
tried to construct ontology of morality and make it available for understan-
ding that no decent society is possible without such virtue as morality. Col-
lapse of great empires almost always is attributed to slumping morality
index. Al Farabi, Ibn Rushd and Ibn Haldun spoke about that. Al Farabi
maintained that a person needs ethical standards not because they are
imposed from outside but because without morals no person can be a person
and deep truths are revealed only to a pure moral soul. Yet, Al Farabi un-
derstood a cognitive process itself as purification from meanness, vulgarity,
that is achievement of virtue. When a person attains a virtue he is revealed
the deepest patterns of the world and person begins to live not in
pettiness
but in fundamental principles and these principles are moral principles.
One of Al Farabi’s works where he interpreted Plato’s doctrine covers
problems of human being’s improvement and problem of happiness. How to
become happy, this subject of philosophy in medieval world is still nostalgic
about transcendence of idea of happiness, but in Al Farabi’s interpretation it
gains its ontologic completeness in moral development of a human being.
Fəlsəfə və sosial-siyasi elmlər – 2013, № 1
14
Al Farabi writes the following: “First, Plato studies perfection of a human
being, in particular what is a human being and what from inherent things in
Al Farabi helps him become happy… Then, he studies if a person becomes
perfect only because he possesses perfect organs, beautiful face, soft skin or
at the same time he enjoys noble ranks of his parents, his ancestry…’ [Al
Farabi, 1984, p. 107]. Further, he wonders if Plato treated external reasons
of perfection as a real force of gaining happiness and Plato’s answer was
consonant with his idea that only virtuous way of life is a fundamental
precondition to achieve happiness [Al Farabi, 1984, 109]. Plato’s philoso-
phy of course held a special place in Al Farabi’s works. This interest is
dictated by shared stances of thinkers in explaining moral philosophy and its
need for implementation in a world of essence of a human being. He draws
our attention to Plato’s idea that happy people (and these are moral people)
do not need either laws or established rules of life since their way of life is
virtuous. Society of free people as a society of moral people lays virtue into
foundation and therefore virtuous life is an art of moral life, it is perfect. Al
Farabi also believed that Plato’s idea about achievement of person’s perfec-
tion through knowledge is a splendid method to gain happiness. Set course
toward education in Turkic world is a striking phenomenon. For Turkic
thinkers getting education not only for practical purposes but also to appre-
hend a path of wisdom as a process of approaching perfection was a goal for
communicating with the world. Al Farabi believed that education for a per-
son must become a creative event carried out deep inside his soul. And in
this respect we would like to draw attention to a difference between Plato
and Al Farabi in understanding essence of education. While Plato’s theory
of education in itself is his implemented project of supremacy of idea over
empiric world, which generally is an idea of supremacy over world and hu-
man being very philosophically veiled in terms of metaphysics. This mea-
ning latently or implicitly laid by Plato became more defined due to such
thinkers as Bacon, Nietzsche and Fuko. Bacon explains that knowledge is
power, Nietzsche indicates that education under a motto of person’s integra-
tion into absolute meaning can load a person with stranger’s values and
meanings, while Michele Fuco opines that education is shaping conscious-
Fəlsəfə tarixi
15
ness by a scientific discourse that engrains recognition of authority in any
kind. Superhuman normative rationality in Plato’s philosophy is presented
in a versatile historic form. In Middle Ages education was closely connected
with understanding a person as a word of God. Hegel saw in education a
way to gain important logical forms that ensure concreteness of life, i.e. im-
plication to Absolute Meaning. Under all historic changes one thing that
stays put is recognition of some transcendental reality by logics of which
consciousness development of an individual is stated [Seitakhmetova, 2009,
18]. Meanwhile, Abu Nasr absolutely differently comprehends an education
process; in fact his understanding is in the tideway of Turkic educational
strategy underlain by Eastern metaphysics. What kind is it? Purpose of edu-
cation is not supremacy of a human being over the world, but unity with the
world, God, nature, yourself and Others. It is achieving a happy condition
and happiness as implementation of moral life and a happy person is a per-
son living in harmony of moral intent and its moral implementation. Self-
improvement in education was a prerequisite to reveal God inside yourself.
Institute of mentorship in eastern paradigm of education opened up such
prospect of spiritual self-improvement since Mentor’s role was to help his
Follower to implement a moral path but not to subdue Follower’s will and
mind to his personal supremacy. Therefore, education was not intended for
everyone, but only to those who enjoyed spiritual and moral qualities rele-
vant to that activity. Each Mentor in the East is respected because his perso-
nality is a path towards morality. Moreover, great Mentor was the one who
could educate a Follower that excelled the Mentor himself by his spiritual
qualities. If a Mentor locks meaning of education on worshiping the Mentor
himself, he ceases to execute his mentoring obligations and settles down to a
course of amoralism, sin. Al Farabi himself is both great Follower and great
Mentor, that is why his ideas about moral education become a condition of
implementing a virtuous life. Revised in subsequent philosophic systems,
namely in studies of Yussuf Balasaguni, Akhmed Yassawi, Akhmed Yugne-
ki, they laid as a benign foundation for a subject of moral education as ‘a
science to become happy’. Turkic philosophy turns into philosophy of mora-
lity and its authenticity can be determined in this particular moral content.
Dostları ilə paylaş: |