In memory of Pınar Canevi...

We lost Pınar Canevi, the wise woman of Turkish philosophy, on April 23, 2026.

I met our esteemed professor in the philosophy department at Boğaziçi University. While I was working as a research assistant in the department, I took her graduate-level course on Plotinus. During this period, when I was studying Ancient Greek and Latin, we delved into the philosophy of Plotinus, the most vibrant of the Neoplatonists. After defending my thesis, I continued my doctoral studies in philosophy at METU. 

In a sense, we also owe the establishment of the METU Philosophy Department to Pınar Canevi.

A significant accumulation of philosophical knowledge had been formed at METU through the efforts of my doctoral thesis advisors, Teo Grünberg and Hüseyin Batuhan. However, establishing a philosophy department that provided undergraduate education was not easy.

This problem was also solved through Pınar Canevi's personal relationships and efforts. With the appointment of Teo Grünberg as department chair in 1983, the METU Philosophy Department was founded. 

The METU Philosophy Department made unique contributions to the rooting of modern logic, analytical philosophy, and the philosophy of science in Turkey. In a way, we owe these contributions to Pınar Canevi as well. Although she worked on continental philosophy and ancient philosophy, trained students, and supervised theses, she paved the way for analytical philosophy and the philosophy of science in Turkey. 

Equipped with the education she received at prestigious institutions in the USA, Canevi made great contributions to the development of philosophy in Turkey with her knowledge, demeanor, and guidance. 

At the Boğaziçi University philosophy department, she liberated many curious young people with the allure of philosophy through the courses she opened, her conversation, and her wise personality. I cannot forget the Plotinus course I took from her.

While talking about the Enneads of Plotinus, who was like a bridge between Ancient Greek philosophy, Hellenism, the Alexandrian school, Abrahamic religions, and German Idealism, I felt as if we were rising from the ground. If it weren't for the Turkish coffee we sipped in between, I could have sworn that we were lost in contemplation beyond time and space in that beautiful room overlooking the Bosphorus Bridge. 

May Your Soul Reunite with the One, My Dear Professor

May your soul, which returns to the Source, be scattered once again to the four corners of the world.