How Turkish despotism gives birth to Turkish ignorance

Submitted by Ianus (Poland), Jul 26, 2010 at 05:35

Thanks for your nice contribution to elucidate one important point concerning the Turks - their ignorance and their worldview built upon it. But , frankly , there are few , if any, new things in this allegedly "new" Turkey. After all in the language of the educated classes of the Ottoman Empire 'Osmalica' 'Turk' was synonymous with 'ignorant barbarian' or as e.g. "A handbook of Asia Minor "( v. 1 , 1919 p.171) says referring to "the contemptuous use of the name ( Turk ) , common in the country. 'Turk' has long been used as a term of abuse, e.g. 'Turk Kafa' means ' blockhead '."

But ignorance and subjectless anger you met are no coincidences but have deeper roots and constitute the every essence of Turkey. Turkey is a despotic police state with servile population that knows no freedom of speech . And as Montesquieu observes there is a strict correlation between despotism and ignorance :

"Excessive obedience supposes ignorance in the person that obeys: the same it supposes in him that commands, for he has no occasion to deliberate, to doubt, to reason; he has only to will.

In despotic states [...] education [...] must be therefore [...] very much limited; all it does is to strike the heart with fear, and to imprint on the understanding a very simple notion of a few principles of religion. Learning here proves dangerous, emulation fatal; and as to virtue, Aristotle cannot think that there is any one virtue belonging to slaves; if so, education in despotic countries is confined within a very narrow compass.

Here, therefore, education is in some measure needless: to give something, one must take away everything , and begin with making a bad subject in order to make a good slave.

For why should education take pains in forming a good citizen, only to make him share in the public misery? If he loves his country, he will strive to relax the springs of government; if he miscarries he will be undone; if he succeeds, he must expose himself, the prince, and his country to ruin." [The spirit of Laws , Book IV, Ch. 3]

Hi, Pan !

---

Note: Opinions expressed in comments are those of the authors alone and not necessarily those of Daniel Pipes. Original writing only, please. Comments are screened and in some cases edited before posting. Reasoned disagreement is welcome but not comments that are scurrilous, off-topic, commercial, disparaging religions, or otherwise inappropriate. For complete regulations, see the "Guidelines for Reader Comments".