Can The Man Who Grows Roses Be Considered A Contemporary Example of Tadbîru'l-Mutawahhid? A Comparative Study
Chapter from the book: Bayram, A. T. & İpar, M. S. (eds.) 2023. Academic Research and Evaluations in Social Sciences - I.

Murat Erten
Muğla Sıtkı Koçman University

Synopsis

The concept of mutawahhid, which has an important place in Ibn Bajja's philosophy of society, refers to the individual who has to live in a virtuous society even though he is virtuous, who cannot be compatible with the society due to the problems that arise and who has difficulty in expressing himself and realizing his potential forces. The situation of the virtuous individual in the unvirtuous society is similar to the weeds that grow in the undesirable place. It may not be possible for virtuous people to live in such a difficult situation. In this case, it is more appropriate for the virtuous individual to migrate to another society consisting of virtuous individuals like himself. However, in the event that such migration is not possible, it is necessary to cut off contact/communication with the society and most of the people and to adopt a solitary life order in order to be protected from the harms of social life.

Could this radical proposal of Ibn Bajja be an evaluation criterion and a contemporary solution to the problem of loneliness, which is intensely experienced in today's societies? It is not easy to answer this question, but the subject that Rasim Özdenören deals with in his novel The Man Who Grows Roses gives the opportunity to understand the situation of the man who grows roses and the mutawahhid together. The main character of the novel is a person who is disturbed by social change movements and withdraws to live on his own, just like the mutawahhid. It is important to know what the characters aim for while performing this common action, what kind of result they expect and how they plan the process. In the two texts discussed, mutual effects on these issues are seen. The act of waiting, in which the mutawahhid is directed towards a specific goal, is pregnant with important social developments as a result. But the man who grows roses is not oriented towards a specific result, so he just waits and hopes that something will happen spontaneously. On the other hand, while the man who grows roses questions the process and is willing to face the truth, the fact that the mutawahid does not engage in such an inquiry makes the text incomplete.

How to cite this book

Erten, M. (2023). Can The Man Who Grows Roses Be Considered A Contemporary Example of Tadbîru'l-Mutawahhid? A Comparative Study. In: Bayram, A. T. & İpar, M. S. (eds.), Academic Research and Evaluations in Social Sciences - I. Özgür Publications. DOI: https://doi.org/10.58830/ozgur.pub308.c1407

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Published

October 23, 2023

DOI