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The panel titled “A Life Dedicated to Thought: Hilmi Ziya Ülken on the 50th Anniversary of His Death” organized by the Umran Sociology Society of Muş Alparslan University was held with a large turnout at our university’s Prof. Dr. Sabahattin Zaim Conference Hall. The panel, which addressed the philosophical legacy of Hilmi Ziya Ülken, a thinker of the Republican era who made significant contributions to Turkey’s intellectual heritage, was followed with great interest by academic staff and students.

The panel, which was attended by our Rector Prof. Dr. Mustafa Alican, was chaired by Muş Alparslan University Sociology Department Head Dr. Engin Abat, while speakers included Atatürk University Philosophy Department faculty member Prof. Dr. Ali Utku, Muş Alparslan University Philosophy Department faculty member Assoc. Prof. Dr. Ümit Kartal, and our department faculty member Assoc. Prof. Dr. Veysel Ergüç.
The first speaker of the panel was Prof. Dr. In his presentation titled “Starting Philosophy with Morality: Hilmi Ziya Ülken from ‘Love Morality’ to ‘Sovereignty’”, Ali Utku evaluated Ülken’s multifaceted intellectual contributions to the intellectual life of the Republican period.

The second speaker of the panel, Assoc. Prof. Dr. Ümit Kartal, in his speech titled “Hilmi Ziya Ülken and the Common Dilemma of Turkish Thought History: Completing the Half-Man”, addressed Ülken’s original criticisms and solution proposals regarding the modernization process.

The third speaker of the panel and our faculty member, Assoc. Prof. Dr. Veysel Ergüç, in his speech titled “The Effort to Overcome the Dilemma of Particularity and Universality: Hilmi Ziya Ülken and the Dyadological Method”, evaluated Ülken’s approach to modernity.
Ergüç stated that Ülken developed a new methodology called the “dyadological method” against the reductionist understanding of Western-based positivism, and that this method criticized both the positivist understanding of the West and mysticism. Ergüç stated that Ülken advocated that Turkey should participate in the modernization process with its own method and aimed to establish a balance between modernity and tradition. At the end of the panel, our Rector Prof. Dr. Mustafa Alican presented certificates of appreciation to the participants who contributed to the organization of the event.