A CRITIQUE OF CULTURAL WESTERNIZATION FROM THE PARADIGM OF SCIENTIFICISM

Looking at Westernization in a historical process, it is seen that it reflects positivist scientific knowledge in cultural fields. The positivist thought, which is at the core of Westernization, was objectively applied during the last and the first periods of the Ottoman Empire. Westernization in Turkey, the paradigm of science has been aimed at creating a new social culture. In the beginning, Westernization, an objective presentation of a civilization project, and positivism, which is based on it, have been transformed into a political and cultural system. The managers of the Republican period, who put the mind and science to the fore, tried to radically apply cultural reforms with a positivist approach. This situation shows that positivist thought is trying to establish a cultural rule over society. On the other hand, Nursi criticizes cultural Westernization by introducing a different perspective with a contemporary approach and method. In this study, Nursi’s new way of understanding and reconciling Islam terminology through modern discourse focused on producing a new understanding of science in the face of positivist thought. Nursi’s critique of positivism and Western civilization, which is the basis of cultural reforms, is taken into consideration the rejection of positivist mindset and the interpretation of faith in science