“Whatever is, arises from consciousness. 

So existence coincides with consciousness. 

If there is no consciousness, there can be no existence.”

-Şaban Teoman Duralı

As we usher in the second century of the Republic of Türkiye, we are delighted to announce the establishment of Institute Social, a think tank dedicated to education and society. At this milestone, marking the continuation of a rich tradition spanning millennia, it is of utmost importance to consider the philosophical and sociological foundations upon which the Republic of Türkiye should build its existence in the second century. Despite significant achievements in its first century, securing social and democratic rights was a challenging endeavor. Therefore, lessons and responsibilities must be drawn from the achievements and difficulties of the past century. The founding idea of Institute Social draws inspiration from these very lessons. 

The pivotal question arises: On what should the paradigm of the Republic of Türkiye be based in its second century? This was the most contemplated question when the idea of Institute Social was conceived. Institute Social firmly believes that the paradigm of the second century should center around “a robust educational concept and implementation”. While our ancient traditions contain the essence of an educational approach that unveils human potential, the global evolution of education, particularly in the last two centuries, has prioritized molding individuals to suit the system’s needs, forsaking the education of individuals based on their needs.

Consequently, individual subjectivity and uniqueness have been sacrificed to the system. The traces of this is notably evident in the Republic of Türkiye’s first century experience. The mechanization of education led to a departure from human-centric thinking, transforming education into a competition to train individuals according to their own systems. However, education should foster unity and solidarity among nations rather than division. Thus, the most promising avenue for cultivating a shared consciousness globally and locally is through children and, consequently, education. Ensuring that every child has access to quality education under fair conditions at school, at home, and in their environment stands as a paramount task for the second century.

In addition to tasks in the establishment process, determining the correct methods and principles is of great importance. In our establishment process, the conceptual groundwork spanned one year and we thoroughly examined the intellectual landscape of both our country and the world, analyzing notable examples. Good examples were studied to avoid overlooking essential steps, ensuring that this accumulated wisdom was not ignored. Examining good examples from the past to the present reveals a significant moral aspect of our founding philosophy: Every effort, research, project, or similar activity that strengthens education and society aims not to find faults but to address deficiencies. Despite occasional setbacks globally and in Türkiye due to this approach in research and development activities, our preference is to implement activities that strengthen our coexistence abilities and contribute to a better future in a complementary and elevating approach. Institute Social has precisely determined its institutional stance at this point. Providing the necessary ground and support for advancing distinctive concepts, theories, and field literature tailored to the needs of Türkiye is the Institute’s fundamental mission. The most critical component of this mission is the training of young humanities and social scientists who prioritize collective wisdom, possess a strong sense of awareness and belonging to Türkiye, and are globally literate. To implement this mission with the right methods, Institute Social has set some fundamental principles. We aim to adopt an approach that moves from human to society, subjective to objective, oral to written, local to global, conventional to contemporary, and, as a result of all these, from knowledge to practice in all our work.

From human to society: At the core of every educational institution’s idea is the human being. Therefore, the principle of evaluating social events and phenomena that focus on education with the human being at its center is at the heart of our work. For a fairer and more sustainable world for humanity, there is a need to redesign the world system based on human values. In this restructuring, the sole constant that should confer a superior standing to individuals is “morality”.  Other than that, nothing should elevate one human above others, and even above other living beings. Therefore, an educational and societal perspective should be created based on this understanding.

From subjective to objective: As Institute Social, we aim to create an objective research ecosystem while preserving the richness found in diverse subjective perspectives. Objectivity devoid of benefits to humanity and society holds no discernible impact on the shaping of shared consciousness. Therefore, we believe that every work emerging from the realm of subjectivity contributes a discerning and valuable objectivity to both society and culture.

From local to global: In our work, we uphold a perspective that combines a strong sense of awareness and belonging to Türkiye with global literacy. Because we consider that any human and social study carried out without reading or understanding itself can lead to an unconscious deviation. With this responsibility, the creation of distinctive concepts, theories, and field literature specific to Türkiye is our priority at Institute Social.

From conventional to contemporary: Another important principle for us is to develop solutions for the uncertainties of today and tomorrow with the rooted knowledge and experience we have inherited from tradition. While mastering the uncertainties of the future is considered one of the most important skills of today, to acquire this skill, it is necessary to be in harmony with tradition and not alienate it. Particularly in societies that alienate thought and belief traditions, a loss of shared consciousness can occur, leading to communities of people who lack confidence and experience identity crises.

From oral to written: To preserve the value of speech, it is crucial to use the possibilities and permanence of writing. Preserving the oral culture for shared consciousness can only be achieved by transforming speech into written language in the best possible form and style, reflecting its power. There is limited potential to preserve shared consciousness in any other way. Therefore, Institute Social, especially through its longitudinal research, will pay attention to the regular recording and interpretation of speech and experience.

From knowledge to practice: We aim to contribute to the production of high-quality knowledge through our research and develop applicable models accordingly. Every study must be based on knowledge, designed with a strong methodology, and completed with original applications that fit into this flow. We believe that all studies conducted in line with this flow will have the maximum impact in benefiting individuals and society.

The motto of Institute Social is to inspire the world of thought and guide social change with the foundation of knowledge and ethics. The Institute will open its doors to the public on November 4, 2023, with these principles, methods, and approaches. With the hope of making qualified contributions to the shared consciousness of our country and the world and increasing the experiences of coexistence, justice, and quality of life, especially in education, stay tuned.