Abstract
This paper investigates the emergence of elite cosmologies in the early Turkish Republic, examining how intellectuals developed new spiritual, metaphysical, and philosophical projects in response to the profound social and epistemic disruptions of secular nation-building. Rather than treating these formations as imported ideas, the study conceptualizes them as indigenous modernities i.e., locally rooted adaptations of global currents shaped by the specific moral, political, and intellectual conditions of the new Republic. The research draws on a multi-method approach combining textual analysis of writings, close reading of periodicals and published lectures, archival study of intellectual networks, and prosopographic mapping of key figures active between the 1920s and 1950s. This approach makes it possible to trace how diverse groups of scholars, writers, and reformist thinkers developed alternative spiritualities that blended scientific rationalism, intuition, metaphysical speculation, ethical reform, and new forms of spiritual inquiry. The findings indicate that these elite actors were united not by a single doctrine but by shared concerns: the perceived insufficiency of positivist explanations, the moral uncertainties produced by rapid modernization, and the desire to articulate a spiritually resonant vision of human flourishing compatible with a secular nation-state. By situating these movements within a broader genealogy of spiritual innovation, the paper demonstrates how new forms of spiritual thought can emerge from within modernity itself. This framework contributes to comparative discussions of re-enchantment, alternative modernities, and the locally situated production of spiritual knowledge in the twentieth century.
Details
Presentation Type
Paper Presentation in a Themed Session
Theme
KEYWORDS
Indigenous Modernities, Spiritual Innovation, Re-enchantment, Elite Cosmologies, Historical Research
