Philosopher (b.
15 January 1925, Pendik / İstanbul – d. 21 February 2005, İstanbul). He
attended Büyükada Primary School (1936), Galatasaray High School, Department of
Latin (1944) and graduated from İstanbul University, Faculty of Literature,
Department of Philosophy (1948). He analytically dealt with Nietzsche in his
graduation thesis “Friedrich Nietzsche'nin
Yaşama Felsefesi” (Friedrich Nietzsche’s Philosophy of Life). He
worked as an assistant at the same department (1950). He became a doctor in
1952, with his thesis “Wilhelm Dilthey'a
Göre Konuca Temellenmesi Bakımından Manevi Bilimler Öbeğinin Meydana Getirdiği
Bilim Bağları” (Science Connections Created from Moral Sciences from a
Subjective Basis Point of View according to Wilhelm Dilthey), which was related
to the basics of the knowledge-logic of human-social-historical sciences. He
received the Alexander von Humboldt scholarship and studied for two years at
the University of Cologne and the University of Bonn. At the University of Köln
and the University of Frankfurt he reviewed his doctorate studies and became an
associate professor. When he returned to Turkey, he began to work as an associate
professor of the history of philosophy. In 1954, he became an associate
professor at İstanbul University, Faculty of Literature, Department of
Philosophy, with his thesis “Edmund
Husserl'de Başkasının Ben'i Sorunu” (The Problem of the ‘I’ of the Other in
Edmund Husserl), which he prepared from the handwritten notes of Husserl at the
University of Köln and the Husserl Archive at the Vervier University in
Belgium. He gave lectures at İstanbul University and passed the German and
French state proficiency tests and he became a professor in the same department
in 1964. He died of a heart attack in 2005. He is buried at Zincirlikuyu
Graveyard.
Between 1981-90,
he served as the chairman of the Department of History of Philosophy. From 1979
to 1981 as a guest professor, he gave lectures on the philosophy of language,
culture and science at Wuppertal University in Germany. Prof. Nermi Uygur had
the opportunity to go abroad many times with the scholarships he received. He
participated in the International Congress of Philosophy in Brussels in 1954,
in Venice in 1958, in Vienna in 1968 and in Düsseldorf in 1978. He gave
lectures and seminars on logic, discipline of knowledge, philosophy of
education and arts at Wuppertal University (Germany) between 1979-81. He returned
to İstanbul University, Faculty of Literature, Department of Philosophy in 1981
and he was the chairman of the Department of the History of Philosophy until
his retirement in 1992. The supervisor of numerous doctorate theses, Nermi
Uygur gave graduate lectures during his later years at İstanbul University. He
gave graduate lectures and seminars on the relationship between philosophy and
arts at Robert College (now Boğaziçi University) for a few years and at Marmara
University, Institute of Fine Arts, Departments of Painting, Sculpture,
Graphics and Industrial Design for thirteen years beginning in the late 80s.
Prof. Nermi
Uygur studied at several universities in the United Kingdom, France and Italy
as well as Germany where he lived for a long time studying and giving lectures.
He was the secretary of the Turkish Association of Philosophy, of which he was
among the founders but which was later closed. In addition to his philosophy
studies abroad, he was famous for his essays and articles which were published
in the reviews Felsefe Arkivi, Yeni Ufuklar and Yeni Dergi;
the reviews Türk Dili Dergisi, Adam Sanat, Kitap-lık, which were published by the Turkish Language Association
before 1983; and in Mind, Zeitschrift
für Philosophie, Philosophische Anzeiger, Rheinische Forschung, Aut
Aut, Rivista di Cultura and Bildung
und Erziehung.
Prof. Nermi Uygur was one of the greatest exponents of the Turkish
language with his works that can be considered the crossroads of philosophy and
literature. One of the founders of the Association of the Turkish PEN Writers,
Uygur was also a member of the Turkish Philosophy Association, the PEN Association of Writers, the Alexander von
Humboldt Stiftung and was an editorial board member of Jahrbuch für Bildungs- und Erziehungsphilosophie. He collected the
Turkish Language Association’s Science Award in 1959 and the Turkish Journalist
Association’s Sedat Simavi Award in 1995 with his work Edmund Husserl'de
Başkasının Ben'i Problemi (The Problem of the ‘I’ of the
Other in Edmund Husserl) and received the Writers Union of Turkey Essay Award,
the Turkish Academy of Sciences Service Award in 2000 and the Turkish
Publishers Association Essay Prize in 2003 with his work Tadı Damağımda (Its Taste on my Tongue). He was
honored with plaques by the Turkish Philosophy Association in
1995, by İstanbul University in 1998 and by Maltepe University in 2002 for his
studies on national and international level.
WORKS:
ESSAY-RESEARCH: Edmund Husserl'de
Başkasının Ben'i Sorunu (The
Problem of the ‘I’ of the Other in
Edmund Husserl, 1958), Dilin Gücü (The Power of Language,
1962), Felsefenin Çağrısı (Call of
Philosophy, 1962), Dünya Görüşü (World
View, 1963), Güneşle (With Sun, 1969), İnsan Açısından Edebiyat (Literature
from the Human Aspect, 1969), 100 Soruda
Türk Felsefesinin Boyutları (Dimensions of Turkish Philosophy in 100
Questions, 1974; with the title Türk
Felsefesinin Boyutları, Dimensions of Turkish Philosophy, 2002), Kuram Eylem Bağlamı - Çözümleyici Bir
Felsefe Denemesi (Concept of Theory and Action – An Analytical Essay on
Philosophy, 1975), Dil Yönünden Fizik
Felsefesi (Philosophy of Physics from the Aspect of Language, 1979), Philosophie der Turkischen Sprache (Philosophy
of the Turkish Language, 1980), Yaşama
Felsefesi (Philosophy of Living, 1981),
Bilim Gücü (Power of Science, 1984),
Kültür Kuramı (Theory of Culture, 1984),
Çağdaş Ortamda Teknik (Technique in the Modern Media, 1989), Bunalımdan Yaşama Kültürü (Culture of
Living Through Depression, 1989), İçi
Dışıyla Batı'nın Kültür Dünyası (Inside and Outside the World of Western
Culture, 1992), Bir Deneme Bir Tutam
Deyiş (An Essay, a Small Amount of Expressions, 1992), Tadı Damağımda (Its Taste on my Tongue, 1995), Bunalımdan
Yaşama Kültürü (Culture of Living
Through Depression, 1996), Başka
Sevgisi (Love of the Other, 1996), Salkımlar
(Clusters, 1998), Dipten
Gelen (Coming from the
Depths, 1999), Denemeli Denemesiz (With
Essays, Without Essays, 1999), İçimin
Sesi (The Sound of My Inside, 2001).
In addition, he did translations.
