Browsing by Author "Hemsinli, Hakan"

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Religious Experience as an Argument for the Existence of God: the Case of Experience of Sense and Pure Consciousness Claims
(Cumhuriyet Univ, Fac theology, 2018) Hemsinli, Hakan
The efforts to prove God's existence in the history of thought have been one of the fundamental problems of philosophy and theology, and even the most important one. The evidences put furword to prove the existence of God constitute the center of philosophy of religion's problems not only philosophy of religion, but also the disciplines such as theology-kalam and Islamic philosophy are also seriously concerned. When we look at the history of philosophy, it is clear that almost all philosophers are interested in the evidence in favour of and against the existence of God. Especially in recent times, religious experience has often been regarded as evidence of the existence of God. Studies in the field of religious and mystical experience have put forward many arguments concerning the use of religious experience as evidence. However, this study has been limited to experience of sense and pure consciousness claims rather than examining all of these arguments. In this study firstly, the analogy between experience of sense and religious experience will be deal with, and then claims that conciousness can be emptied by a number of methods which are defended by mystics. In addition, it will be tried to defend the opinion that the mystical experiences which are the common point of the two approaches are valid. The main emphasis of the article will be that these arguments can be used as evidence for the existence of God.
A Faithfull Reason From Reasonable Faith: Einstein's Concept of God in Deism and Panteism Context
(Ilahiyat Bilimleri Arastirma Vakfi, 2020) Hemsinli, Hakan; Oruk Akman, Zehra
Although Albert Einstein is famous as a physicist, he is a versatile scientist who has influenced many areas with the richness of his thoughts and writings. The relationship which he established between God and the universe becomes an issue that puts him in paradoxes and causes difficult problems to overcome. Does Einstein see God and the universe as one unity? If so, can Einstein be interpreted as a person who has a pantheistic conception of God? As person who believes in the certainty of determinism in the universe, does Einstein need to be interpreted as a deist because he rejects religions, prayers, worship, a belief in a personal God and says that God cannot intervene in the universe? Moreover, when the allegations that states he is an atheist or agnostic are added a serious problem would occur to make a connection between him and many different or even opposite conceptions of God. Considering the evolution of Einstein's thoughts, it can be said that he has expressions that convenient and contradict all of them. For this reason, it would be more accurate to explain Einstein's understanding of God in a different manner rather than to confine them to a single conception. In this study, firstly, it will be emphasized, although Einstein has a Jewish identity in a cultural sense, he does not accept the concept of a personal God as described in theistic religions. Then it will be evaluated whether he is a deist. Later, Spinoza's influence on Einstein and his thoughts on pantheism will be examined through the relationship which established by Einstein between nature and God. In addition, it will be traced that how the rational faith which started with Maimonides transformed into a faithful mind in Einstein's thoughts through Spinoza. Although Albert Einstein is more known for being a physicist, he has also expressed his thoughts on many other areas in the social and human events of his time. His approach to social events, his assessment of religious phenomena, his analysis of the differences of opinion in ideology, represent his versatile personality. At the beginning of his science career, some metaphysical postulates which are based on his studies show how his thoughts on physics and beyond are subject to each other. Einstein thinks that there is a superior intellect that manifests in the universe which has been a source of motivation for many years in the study of scientists such as Newton and Kepler. He asserts that he had a similar divine inspiration in his scientific studies. Indeed, Einstein often speaks of a divine being and some mysterious situations in his speeches and writings. With emphasizing his piety, he implies that actual piety is "knowing God". With the influence of the Jewish tradition in which he was born in, he first encountered understanding of God which is offered by Judaism, a theistic religion. This current state has serious impacts on his approach to God and science. His approach to the universe and social phenomena is shaped by the effect of this tradition and upbringing, which he benefits from, so a kind of God image has begun to appear in his mind. His approach to the universe and social phenomena is shaped by the effect of this tradition. So, a kind of God concept has begun to appear in his mind. The concept in his mind has become more evident with the influence of his scientific studies and his innovative ideas about the universe, finally, because of this he has digressed from the Jewish God concept in which he had been connected then evolved in a different direction. Einstein frequently referred to Maimonides and Spinoza who were accused of infidelity. during their lifetime and were alleged to have an unusual sense of spirituality. The impacts of those philosophers are quite great about his conception. Einstein does not explicitly state that his conceptions of God is placed under theism, deism, pantheism, panentheism, atheism, or agnosticism. Rather, he states that he is not close to any of these thoughts. The relationship which he established between God and the universe becomes an issue that puts him in paradoxes and causes difficult problems to overcome. As a matter of fact, Einstein introduces a theory within the framework of the only system underlying his approach to the universe and his understanding of the perfect order. This theory that is named as Unified Field Theory allows the universe to function like a mechanism. In the formation of this theory, Einstein has benefited from the monotheistic God in the Judaistic tradition. However, it is not possible for the God which envisioned by Einstein. to intervene directly in the universe Nevertheless, it would not be correct to interpret that Einstein did not have any divine beliefs. He has talked about the existence of a remarkable aesthetic harmony in the perfect order (universe) and a latent state that he feels exists behind the functioning reasonable system, given signals that he is not far from metaphysics. For all that, he does not attempt to explain the ambiguity of the origin of the universe based on the creationism of God. He states that the universe is not fully understood yet, and if it was created by God, then His purpose would be to make it incomprehensible. Interestingly, Einstein had a divine belief in the cosmological order behind his expressions of "God does not dice with the universe", which he said against the quantum mechanics that emerged during his lifetime, acting from the presumption that the movements of beings were random. However, when the content of his belief is examined, it is understood that Einstein follows a path different from Judaism as he frequently stated in his own statements. For Einstein, Judaism is not more than just a cultural state and sometimes a political phenomenon. According to him, the belief in the personal God eliminates the deprivation from an experimental perspective by meeting the metaphysical needs of people. With the influence of Newton's Principle of Causality, to which he adheres firmly, it comes to mind whether he accept the view of a deistic God, who does not need rituals such as prayer, worship, and does not intervene with the universe that is a common approach among scientists of his time. In addition to this, Einstein described his god as the god of Spinoza, who he frequently referred to in his own statements and regarded him as his teacher. Should Einstein's thought be considered with a similar approach, based on Spinoza's view of God, who was also accused of this belief in his time and interpreted as a pantheist and panentheist today? This would be to accept that Einstein saw the universe as identical with God. However, in his statements, Einstein speaks of a mystery that he believes exists in the essence and beyond of the universe and that he enjoys experiencing it. His similar statements detract him from being interpreted within the framework of atheism or agnosticism, although he has declared that he is an agnostic towards God, he probably meant the nature of God's existence. For this reason, it would be more accurate to explain Einstein's understanding of God in a different manner, rather than reducing it to a single concept. In this study, firstly, it will be emphasized, although Einstein has a Jewish identity in a cultural sense, he does not accept the concept of personal God as described in theistic religions. Subsequently it will be evaluated whether he accepts a deistic God in terms of his physicist aspect. Then, Spinoza's influence on Einstein will be examined through relationship which established by Einstein between nature and God. In addition, it will be traced that how the rational belief which started with Maimonides transformed into a faithful mind in Einstein's thoughts through Spinoza.
Dirty Cry-A Darker Wake Man's Cry-Num: Happiness and Philosophy
(Ataturk Univ, Fac theology, 2018) Hemsinli, Hakan
The basic problems such as the definition of happiness, its nature and its relation to philosophy have been systematically addressed by Ibn Miskawayh, who is among the most important names of the tradition of Islamic moral philosophy. The philosopher has examined these problems both Tahdhib al-akhlak wa-tathir al-a'rak and Tartib al-Sa'adat wa Manazil-al 'Ulum. In this review, Tartib al-Sa'adat wa Manazil-al 'Ulum will be tried to be introduced and examined. The works on Ibn Miskawayh has often not included this study. This can be easily detected when the Islamic moral philosophy literature is searched. This work, which is a meticulous work, is extremely valuable both for revealing the relationship between happiness and philosophy, for revealing the connection of both science and morals, and for addressing some problems of philosophy. In this work, in which the rational bases of morality are revealed, attempts have been made to make contributions to the field of morality by introducing the works of Aristotle. Ibn Miskawayh, who continued the tradition of Aristotle, handled this work in two main sections. In the first part, happiness is processed; in the second part, the ranks of the sciences are discussed.
The Relationship Between Theology and Philosophy of Religion: The Case of Hegel and Tillich
(Ataturk Univ, Fac theology, 2020) Hemsinli, Hakan
The relationship of philosophy with religion or theology has maintained its vitality in every period of the history of thought, and as a result of different thinking activities of human beings, serious dissidences have arisen about how these fields are related to each other. Theology, which has an history that goes back to the Ancient Age, has always had a relationship with philosophy. In the Middle Ages, this relationship shifted to a different ground. In the Enlightenment period, rational understanding of religion and God paved the way for the emergence of a systematic discipline such as the philosophy of religion. Hegel's studies on philosophy of religion has led philosophy of religion to start gaining its independence from rational theology which is the field that resembles it most. The main framework of this article is the relationship between theology and the philosophy of religion. This relationship has been tried to be dealt with through Hegel and Tillich. The main purpose of this article is to analyze the relationship between theology and the philosophy of religion on the basis of two important names in the history of the philosophy of religion and try to reveal that these fields cannot be completely separated from each other as an intellectual effort. In addition, showing that these areas have a close and dialectical relationship with each other implicitly includes the other purpose of the study.