Gadfly, Being Good Trouble, or Being a Disruptor: A Function of Universities We Have Forgotten or Never Even Considered

If any of you say, “Good heavens, professor, with our sinking economy on one hand, the sorry state of our judiciary on the other, debates over a new constitution, etc., please keep to yourself this function of universities that we have forgotten or never even knew about—I admit I tried to write it politely in the title,” I would not be offended at all, but I would respond with a question. Have you ever considered that the Ottoman Empire, which, according to the poet, grew from a tribe into a world-spanning state, had not a single university until the very last years of its decline before it tragically faded into history at the beginning of the 20th century?     

According to his student Plato, Socrates defined himself as a gadfly and his main task as being a gadfly. “God,” Socrates would say, “…created me, attached to the Athenian state, which resembles a large warhorse. This large and cumbersome state, precisely because of these characteristics, often strays from the right path. My reason for existence is to be the gadfly attached to it, constantly warning this large and cumbersome state and guiding it toward the right path. I know that while performing my duty, I sometimes criticize the state I am attached to, even mercilessly. But all of this is to guide it toward the right path. Let me state immediately: do not try to punish or kill me for these painful criticisms. You will not easily find a gadfly to replace me. In short, Athenians, I am a gift from God to you.” 

John Lewis (1940-2020) was a famous American clergyman and politician who was a defender of Black rights. Lewis, who was also one of Martin Luther King’s leading companions, always advocated for conciliatory methods that excluded violence as much as possible. However, according to Lewis, this pacifism should never be a reason to remain silent in the face of blatant injustice and illegality. Lewis knows very well that throughout history, all sorts of trouble have befallen those who speak out against injustice. However, all these troubles should not cause us to remain silent against injustice. Lewis calls the trouble that is the price of speaking out “good trouble” or “necessary trouble.”                                                                                                                                                     “Çıkıntılık” (being a disruptor) is a slightly slang term often used by today’s youth, which I also like. It means to object or to disrupt things that are going smoothly. I don’t know if you agree, but to me, Socrates’ gadfly role and John Lewis’s good trouble overlap significantly in meaning and purpose with being a disruptor. 

Universities have three classic functions: producing science, providing high-level professional training, and, when necessary, providing consultancy to society and its leaders on all kinds of issues. However, there is a historical deficiency in this definition of function. A country’s universities cannot be content with merely expressing opinions when consulted. Optional consultancy remains very incomplete if it is not complemented by shedding light on society or those in power when necessary. In this context, an example I often give is the American University of Beirut. While successful at an international level in terms of high-level professional training and scientific production, this institution merely watched as modern-day Beirut turned into hell. 

I watch the profound silence of our universities in my country, which has become a tangle of problems, with deep sadness. Another fact that deepens my sadness is that the opposition parties, which have set out to fix things, do not even think to bring our university problem to at least the middle of the agenda. Things will not improve by saying, “Let’s fix the economy and justice first, let’s establish a secular, democratic order, and universities will follow.” Internal and external forces, knowing this very well, first put the Turkish university in a straitjacket with YÖK in 1981 and then completed their task with the 1982 Constitution. Let me add immediately: just as I do not like to constantly hold external forces responsible for what happens in my country, I am ashamed even to think this way, and I immediately remember my university, Istanbul University, awarding an honorary doctorate in law to Kenan Evren in 1983, and I wish the ground would swallow me up. It is on the record. After this ominous conferral of the doctorate, the 28 university rectors who attended the ceremony approached the newly minted Dr. Evren and expressed their own universities’ desire to award an honorary doctorate to Mr. Evren. The gentleman’s response was clear and, unfortunately, reflected the truth: “Do not worry, I consider that I have received this doctorate on behalf of all our universities.” Neither the wish of our rectors nor Evren’s truly accurate response had any contribution from external forces.  

I respectfully remind those who have set out to fix my country: if we do not want our end to resemble that of the Ottomans, God forbid, we also need universities that make being a disruptor one of their main duties.