Out of more than 200 columns I have written in the last four years in the newspaper Cumhuriyet, I had to respond to the attacks against me in only one article. This article will be the second example.
This time, the subject is the sabotage, the difficulties, the attempts to collapse on the project, the imitation activities carried out regarding the project, and the theft of the project for the “Philosophy in Assos / Assos Philosophy Academy” event, which I have been organizing in the ancient city of Assos in the village of Behramkale, Ayvacık, Çanakkale for 22 years. .
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“Philosophy in Assos / Assos Philosophy Academy”It is the first and only event in the history of the Republic of Turkey, which has proven to be sustainable, that has been held regularly for more than 20 years in the field of philosophy, without compromising on quality, in an international and national framework.
In Assos, where Aristotle, one of the most important philosophers in the history of philosophy, lived for a period, this symposium event, which is held twice a year, internationally in July and nationally in February, attended by world-renowned philosophers, lecturers, professors, associate professors, assistant professors, speakers. joined as
In this context, more than 140 faculty members from world-renowned universities such as Cambridge University, Harvard University, Yale University, Sorbonne University, New York University, Columbia University, University of California/Berkeley, University of Arizona, University of Bologna, Humboldt University spoke at the event.
More than 70 faculty members from many universities from Turkey such as Middle East Technical University, Boğaziçi University, Bilkent University, Istanbul University, Ankara University, Mimar Sinan Fine Arts University, Hacettepe University, Ege University attended the event as speakers.
More than 8 thousand participants took part in the meetings held in many fields of philosophy such as philosophy of knowledge, philosophy of science, philosophy of being, moral philosophy, political philosophy, philosophy of art, philosophy of language, philosophy of mind, philosophy of religion.
Papers presented in one of these symposiums were published as a book by Cambridge University Press (CUP), one of the most important academic publishing houses in the world.
This event, which is open to everyone and free of charge, organized by the Philosophy and Art Science Association, attracted great attention as an original project, and more than 100 news about the event were published in the media; The event also contributed greatly to the promotion of Assos both internationally and nationally.
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The Ministry of Culture and Tourism ended the practice of free allocation of archaeological sites for this event two years ago and started to charge fees! The ministry was not satisfied with this, it also banned the serving of local wine at the opening cocktail, which was attended by foreign academics from the USA, Canada, Britain and European Union countries!
The Ministry signed the last straw this year as well. “Troy Cultural Road” together with the organization called Çanakkale Culture, Art and Life Association, which was established this year. “Assos Philosophy School” started to organize an event under the name of! In this context, a few philosophers and non-philosophy experts were invited as speakers!
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How can it be explained that Assos was chosen especially when there are many ancient cities in Turkey, such as Miletos, Ephesus, Klazomenae, Sinope, Soli-Pompeiopolis, Lampsakos, which are at least as important as Assos in terms of the history of philosophy and there is no regular activity in these places?!
in Assos “We will rectify the rocks” The foci that committed crimes by destroying the first degree archaeological protected area, now “Philosophy in Assos / Assos Philosophy Academy” targeted event!
Instead of being creative or supporting something good, trying to destroy or build on or imitate something good, what kind of mood does it reflect?!
In order for Turkey to develop on the path of civilization and culture, it is necessary to find the answer to this question first!