Educator Atalay Girgin Evaluates World Philosophy Day for 12punto.com.tr: 'Kill the Accidental and Epithet-Stricken Human Within You!'

Educator and author Atalay Girgin evaluated these difficult days that humanity has fallen into on World Philosophy Day through the lens of the philosophy-human relationship.

Here is the article Girgin penned exclusively for 12punto:

“IT IS NOT THE EPITHETS THAT DIE EVERY TIME, BUT THE HUMAN”

The human adventure on Earth is adorned with pain, massacres, wars, deportations, and genocides. The process of the being called “human” “learning to be human” and “becoming human” has developed or suffered heavy blows in every age through the stance, thought, speech, and action against the cruelty inflicted by humans—who hide behind their epithets—upon those they condemn with those very epithets.

This history is, on one hand, a history of contributions to the common heritage of humanity, and on the other, a history of destruction, looting, plunder, and the cruelty of humans toward one another. It is the history of the epithet-stricken human, who identifies being human solely with their own epithet—whether ethnic, religious, ideological, or in terms of skin color—and with being only like themselves, in their quest to establish dominance and seize economic wealth. In this sense, both the oppressor and the oppressed in recorded history are the epithet-stricken. They have struck and been struck by reducing themselves or the person before them to epithets. But in the end, it is not the epithets that die every time, but the human pointed out as “that one.”

“SOME ARE STILL KILLING FOR THEIR EPITHETS, AND BEING KILLED FOR THEIR EPITHETS”

Despite what has happened in history, the world is neither better nor worse for today's human than it was in the past. While some people try to contribute to the common heritage of humanity and stand against wars, cruelty, and brutality, others continue to rule through lies, plunder, and theft, and feed upon them. As is the case all over the world, right beside us, some are still killing for their epithets and being killed for their epithets. Yet, it is not one's epithets or statuses that determine a human's value. Epithets can change; statuses are fleeting.

“IT IS THE HUMAN WHO ADDS VALUE TO EPITHETS OR STATUSES”

The fundamental principle that must be grasped is this: Every human has value and values. Epithets and statuses do not add value to a human. They do not make a human more beautiful or ugly, nor do they make them better or worse. On the contrary, it is the human who adds value to epithets or statuses. The person who shows respect to an individual because of their epithet or status, as well as the person who considers themselves valuable because of their epithet and expects respect, is an accidental, that is, an epithet-stricken human.

The accidental human hides behind epithets, statuses, and positions. They evaluate themselves and the person before them through their epithets, statuses, and positions. They do not think to evaluate the individual before them by their value as a human and their values. They alienate, belittle, or obey and submit to them. Both are massive, internalized obstacles in the consciousness of the individual that are difficult to overcome in the process of “learning to be human.”

“PHILOSOPHY IS THE INDISPENSABLE ELEMENT OF AN EDUCATION AIMED AT RAISING CRITICALLY THINKING INDIVIDUALS”

One of the most important tools for overcoming this obstacle is, without a doubt, an education that aims to provide the individual with the habit of critical thinking based on asking questions, inquiry, looking at and understanding the existing and experienced historical-social reality in a multi-faceted and multi-dimensional way, and grasping it holistically, all based on reason. The indispensable element of an education that aims both to learn how to think and to raise individuals who ask, inquire, and think critically is philosophy—that is, philosophy education and learning. Because an education that does not include philosophy, philosophical thinking, and inquiry cannot go beyond raising new epithet-stricken, new accidental humans in herds.

A philosophically thinking human does not mortgage their mind to the power or authority before them, regardless of what epithet or status they hold. Regardless of their own power and capacity for influence, they do not remain silent in the face of the cruelty of powers and oppressors, war, massacres, lies, plunder, robbery, and practices that dehumanize humans. Because they know that when they put their mind at the service of any entity, real or imaginary, the philosophical quality of their thinking will vanish. From that moment on, they will turn into either a master ruling over slaves or a servant of masters and powers. A philosophically thinking human is one who is aware of this and knows how to avoid it through their thinking, actions, and speech.

“WHAT IS DIFFICULT IS LEARNING TO BE HUMAN AND REMAINING HUMAN UNDER ALL CONDITIONS”

It is precisely because they are aware of the tragedies that the accidental and epithet-stricken human has experienced and caused behind the mask of epithets from the past to the present that the Board of Directors of the International Federation of Philosophical Societies determined the general theme of one of the 21st-century World Philosophy Congresses as “Learning to Be Human.” Because for every human who thinks, asks, and inquires, looking like a human physically is not the same thing as being human. It is very easy to just look like a human or to lose one's humanity. What is difficult is learning to be human and remaining human under all conditions. It is to be able to evaluate a human as a whole with their value and values.

It is with this very awareness that we say: hoping to meet on World Philosophy Days where the essential is not epithets and statuses, but rather the human; where a human is not seen as valuable or worthless by looking at their epithets; where the human kills the epithet-stricken and accidental human within themselves; and where every kind of economic, social, political, sexual, religious, ethnic, etc., pressure, violence, and exploitation of humans by humans is eradicated on every square meter of the World...

Happy World Philosophy Day!