May our destiny be guided by reason

Greetings,

Free-thinking, free-conscienced, beautiful people.

Continuing to look through the mirror of art…

Today, what appears to us in the mirror of art is our reason.

I mean, wasn't our destiny supposed to be with poetry or painting….

Where did this reason come from…

And is this reason artistic reason? Philosophical reason? Scientific reason?

I say it is a compact reason, all of them at once.

I say that if one of these is missing, we can only see the tip of our nose.

I mean, we would end up in a ridiculous situation, unable to distinguish between poetry and painting.

What do you say? I hope you agree with me…

Or did it cross your mind that Professor Abidin is trying to say, "Reason, oh reason, come and follow me"…

Anyway, that is also acceptable…

I don't mean exactly that, but I would rather say: "Reason, oh reason, come and write our destiny."

Shall we start with reason, if you like?

Reason is the mental tool for processing information and making logical conclusions through the human capacity for thinking, understanding, grasping, distinguishing right from wrong, reasoning, and adjusting behavior.

After briefly explaining what our reason is, we can continue our article in the vein we intended.

As we asked… Should our destiny be with poetry? Or with painting?

Okay, that's all well and good, but where and with what will we make this comparison? You might say you didn't explain that.

True… We didn't say it because it would have been rude to tell you where and with what to make this comparison.

Of course, we were going to make this comparison in our minds and through our reason. The question itself was a trap; it forced the reader into an option, that is, either this or that. Whether they wanted to or not, the reader was steered toward either the poetry or the painting option. You might say: "Hey Professor Abidin, what was your grudge against us…"

None at all… What grudge could I possibly have against you?

As I always say, thinking and reasoning are good…

Was it so bad? Look, we remembered that we have a civilization, and we delved into deep thoughts about whether this civilization belongs to an oral culture or a visual culture…

Are our civilizations our destiny, or our fate? We delved into deep thoughts about where these fates were written, how they were written, whether this writing is a benevolent one or a malevolent one, and whether it can be changed if we ponder upon it.

We questioned our beliefs, traditions, culture, folklore, artists, and scientists through the historical traces of our civilization; did we do wrong…

We reached a judgment, more or less, about our own civilization—whether it is auditory or visual. Then, through all these recollections, we addressed the civilization concept we labeled as "the other," compared the two civilizations, and entrusted this comparison to the capable hands of our reason's power of judgment.

While doing this, we learned to handle our past—that is, our history—without falling into the illusions of anachronism; that is, without comparing and judging our past through the realities and values of today, and instead handling all the experiences that occurred in history with the realities and values of that moment. Did we do wrong…

If we had done the opposite, we would have performed a distorted, delusional approach and made a mockery of our own reason. In that case, we would have been unfair to our own reason by not making an impartial, objective evaluation and analysis.

So, we would have ended up in a situation where we were unable to produce an objective answer to the question of whether our destiny should be with poetry or painting.

That is why our destiny depends on our reason and how it is shaped. This reason also depends on our geography, our beliefs, the living conditions of the geography, and the provisions of our beliefs. While the face of reason determined by the living conditions and the provisions of belief created by one geography is turned toward the auditory—that is, poetry—the face of reason determined by the living conditions and the provisions of belief created by another geography is turned toward the visual—that is, painting. You are saying, "It would be good if you could explain these, if you don't mind"…

I think it would be good too, but I will explain them later; you know, curiosity is good…

Well, can a reason devoid of philosophical knowledge, artistic knowledge, scientific knowledge, and historical consciousness produce an objective answer, make a healthy judgment, and reach logical conclusions?

Of course it cannot; it can only reach a biased, delusional conclusion in favor of the civilization that makes it feel good, driven by the instinct of partisanship. Because here, what is actually decisive is no longer reason, but belief. And also because the only thing that cannot be compared is beliefs.

Beliefs are absolutely unquestionable and unchangeable. Beliefs that cannot be questioned or changed determine every area of human social life with their laws and rules. Here, reason has now turned toward thinking and reasoning within the boundaries of an inner life pattern based on a belief. If we think of belief-based reason like a compass, we can see that it is designed to create a reality where the sharp point is always inside the belief, and the other leg is within the boundaries of the laws of that belief. This situation creates an inescapable vicious circle, and because one cannot get out of this vicious circle, the reality of the objective world cannot be grasped by objective scientific laws; and because a common vital compatibility and universal integrity cannot be formed for all of humanity, the resulting civilization becomes a civilization only unto itself. I cannot help but mention that I am optimistic that you understand very well what I mean.

You are saying, "You tricked us again; where is the poetry and painting, where is the eye and ear of our civilization?" aren't you?

With all the details in the next article.

Now let's think a little about reason: does our destiny determine our reason, or does our reason determine our destiny? Aren't poetry and painting the children of our reasons and our civilizations, that is, our destinies?

Or, looking from a more philosophical perspective, using the conceptualization of the French sociologist and anthropologist Pierre Bourdieu, do our habitus determine our destiny and civilization, or do our reasons?

Come on then, is it the egg or the chicken, or… you already know the rest.

Poetry and painting are matters of reason.

So, what should our destiny be with…

Until we meet again, goodbye for now; right now and always, breathe with art, stay with art.