The Proceedings of the Twenty-First World Congress of Philosophy

Volume 10, 2007

Ancient and Modern Philosophy

Ahmet Ulvi Türkbağ
Pages 107-115

From the Evening of the East to the Dawn of the West
The Birth of the Concept that Created Modern Europe

Why did philosophy and the sciences in the East lose their momentum and enthusiasm in the 12th century, leaving the West to take the most important progressive steps from the 17th century up to the present day? Can these two intellectual traditions be separated from each other to such an extent as to justify today's theses of conflict? If they cannot be separated, how can the historical events that place these theses on the agenda can be explained? The aim of this short study is to try to find answers to the above questions within the context of two representative philosophers, and to reveal the extent to which the eastern and western traditions are implicated with each other, contrary to some claims, by examining the 17th century, which as a turning point is a very important historical period.