The history of humanity is full of successive changes and revolutions. We know that the most important revolution in human history was the agricultural revolution, which took place 12,000 years ago. The agricultural revolution holds vital importance in the progress of mankind. With the agricultural revolution, humankind became the producer — rather than being only consumers who survive by hunting animals, they started improving the wild plants and then cultivating and harversting them, which provided continuity for his bread. It was not enough for the humankind, so he also spent time for other activities, thinking and research.
We know that, following the increasing trade (for example, the Silk Road was an important trade route that connected Asia and Europe) between cities and even tcountries, the biggest leap in trade took place with the Industrial Revolution, which started in England in the late 1700s and spread across Europe; the Financial Revolution born out of the needs of the society enriched with the Industrial Revolution; and the globalization experienced in the last quarter of the 20th century.
And now, we are faced with digitalization. Undoubtedly, this is the most effective progress ever achieved in the history of humanity, even the most penetrative revolution. Digitalization is a platform without any boundaries between the countries. With increaising digitalization, process improvement becomes more systematic, and managing the added values may get easier.
However, achieving all these and managing the digitalization process are not that easy; the human should be ready. The name of this preparation is the education that is given/will be given, but education that supports rational thinking. I personally believe that, with the rational ability skills that will be provided to young generations, the digitalization processes across the world will also be managed in our country. Undoubtedly, the only way to achieve it will be through science, technology and mathematics. At this point, we should think twice because we need to change the popular sentence “I don’t like mathematics” uttered by the students in our country, and help our students like mathematics. We need to change this attitude because the Turkish students at age 15 perform among the worst in math skills across the OECD countries. (This is 2016 data, but it is not possible to claim we are in a better position now.) Undoubtedly, we cannot change this adverse condition by increasing the number of Religious Vocational Schools, reducing the time of mathematics lessons and extending the time of religion lessons.
Rational Thinking Habit
The countries that have not yet completed industrialization, including our country, have a common and important problem: Inability to understand the technologies of the era. In our case, we have been a society that is a consumer of technology; we do not have the labor force to develop technology, and our infrastructure is quite limited.
Raising people with free minds and free consciences
The education system needed for raising generations with free minds and free consciences should be based on science, not dogma. Religious education does not research, does not accept the positive science and rationalism and does not care about individual and social rights and freedoms and concepts like equality, justice and nationalism.
Who does not know his past does not design and plan his future
Between 800-1200 AD, scholars like Ibn Khaldun,Avicenna, Ibn Hayyan, Al Biruni, Al Kindi and many others, who enlightened the bigoted Western world under the sway of the Church, took lessons like medicine, physics, chemistry, math, sociology and technology at the universities of the era. All these institutions were established by the people who have free minds, free consciences and free opinions. Like the Village Institutes in my previous article, their common purpose was to educate and graduate people who learned life with the education they received at school, and then to train people who will be beneficial to their environment and country and who will teach life.
History of Religions
Religions are not as old as the agricultural revolution in the history of humanity. We know that Judaism, which is considered to be the first religion, originated around 2000 BC and Buddhism originated around 560 BC, so the history of religions has a history of approximately 4020 years. Christianity originated 2020 years ago, which is considered year zero, and Islam, which spread as of 650 AD, has a history of 1370 years. We also know there are hundreds of religions all over five continents.
There is something absolute: Religions are institutions that have always been on the sides of the wealthy and the powerful, which are the feudal order, the nobles, kings, emperors and sultans — not the poor people.
Secularism
Unlimited sovereignty rights of the Church have been brought to an end with the civil commotion in Europe with the Great French Revolution of 1789. With this revolution, the religion-state relationship has been terminated; the state has been separated from religion and secularized. Before the French revolution, the Church and Christianity made history with its fanaticism and held a very strong position of authority above the Kings in France and all of Europe. This rampant sovereignty was the system of “Rights of God” and collapsed with the 1789 French Revolution for the first time, and then a new order based on the “Rights of Man” was established, setting a good example in the history of humanity.
The Reasons for the Ottoman Empire’s Collapse
Much ink has been spilled on the reasons for the Ottoman Empire’s collapse, but to repeat, the reasons of Ottoman Empire’s collapse were similar to the reasons for the French Revolution. Administrative power of Christianity in Europeran countries before the French Revolution was similar to the administrative power of Islam on the Ottoman. For example, the printing machine could only enter Ottoman land 150 years after the European countries, as it was not approved by the religious authorities. Ottoman was separated from the science, questioning, philosophy and all branches of arts, and even fell behind Europe. A culture of submissiveness, which continues today to some degree, was the most important obstacle against development. While Europe renewed itself with the Renaissaance and then the French Revolution, the Ottoman missed the chance for change and fell behind Europe for 150-200 years, and its collapse was inevitably accelerated.
Secular Turkish Republic
The first generations of the Republic established after the fall of the Ottoman made tremendous efforths to overcome the culture of submissiveness. The state was separated from religion and a secular structure was established. The Village Institutes project, an education system based on science and questioning, has been designed and implemented, but then the project of teaching life to the young minds at school and supporting them to teach others what they have learned was abandoned due to political reasons, just as the project was about to become prevalent. Undoubtedly, it is clearer today that this abandonment is creating big gaps in the future of Turkish society.
Today, in the 97th anniversary of Turkish Republic, we still discuss government institutions, secular structure and education system, but not our future. One of the discussions is the Ottoman, whose reasons for collapse are apperant but still not known by the people and are only mentioned in patchy TV series, which is totally a waste of time.
Therefore, we still insist “Education comes first,” but a scientific education.
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