Search

This paper focuses on the history of psychology and its development in Turkey from the late 19th century up into the 1930s. The aim of this work is to set the framework for an academic understanding of the history of psychology in Turkey and to elicit interest in this sphere of Turkish history. Rather than a work based on a series of introductory and often repetitive historical suppositions, we believe it is important to draft a chronicle on documented references and the history of thought of that period. We feel that this kind of work will provide researchers with an important opportunity to deepen the researches in the field. Working within this framework, we began with a close reading of the terminology used in that period in the field of psychology and investigated the meanings attached to these terms. In doing so, we especially stressed the importance of the nuances currently inherent in these expressions. The results of this study demonstrate that in certain ways modern psychology discipline in Turkey is imbued with a reflection of traces of Ottoman- Islamic belief systems. It was the recognition of this that has led us to especially focus on the importance of the inter-relationships between psychology and philosophy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]