M.Kemal Isik

This essay aims to illuminate Nietzsche’s geographical method. By following Nietzsche’s allusions to natural landscapes and illustrating their engagement with time, the following work will attempt to demonstrate the tragic nature of space and time on the one hand and the peculiar entanglement of time and space on the other. Discussing Nietzsche’s references to desert and jungle landscapes, in particular, I wish to shed light on Nietzsche’s engagement with critical spacetime. While desert landscapes embody recollection and redemption for him, the jungle and the tropics come forward as the loci of renunciation and repetition. Ultimately, the sighting of the great noon and the rebirth of tragedy can be conceived as the necessary unity of both parties and mark the culmination of critical spacetime.

This project examines F. W. J. Schelling’s engagement with Plato’s Timaeus, focusing on the transformative reinterpretation of key concepts such as ground, existence, and χώρα within Schelling’s philosophical system, particularly in his Freiheitsschrift. Schelling reconfigures the Platonic dichotomy of Intellect and Necessity into a nuanced framework of ground and existence, shedding light on the nature of evil. Central to this analysis is Schelling’s conceptualization of χώρα, not merely as a passive receptacle but as an active, primordial source, reimagined as a force that, when transformed into a spirit, gives rise to sin. The study underscores Schelling’s recognition of a pre-cosmic, pre-genetic dimension in the Timaeus, opening new perspectives on the primal forces shaping reality. In the end, the essay reveals how Schelling weaves together Platonic concepts of Intellect, Necessity, and χώρα, integrating them into his Naturphilosophie.

This study delves into Avicenna's examination of nature, particularly in relation to Aristotle's Physics, with the aim of elucidating Avicenna's distinctive contribution to the understanding of nature. By focusing on the concepts of motion and rest, this analysis highlights Avicenna's deviation from Aristotle's physics and emphasizes the crucial role of temporality in comprehending natural phenomena. This work suggests that Avicenna's concept of the ‘flowing now’ permeates his depiction of nature, wherein temporality becomes visible in every aspect of natural occurrences. Avicenna goes beyond regarding time as a mere component and asserts that temporality lies at the core of the natural realm. By constantly underscoring the temporal nature of motion and rest, he emphasizes the dynamic and evolving character of nature, presenting a vision of nature as an ongoing process—an ever-flowing entity that can be conceptualized as the ‘flowing nature’ or natura fluens. Through this investigation, Avicenna's distinct perspective on the interplay between nature and temporality emerges, offering a nuanced understanding of the natural world.

In this article, the author analyzes the relationship between art and terrorism. Referring to the element of sublimity operative in philosophical writings pertaining to war and terror, the article raises questions concerning the sublimity of violence on the one hand, and the aesthetization of life and politics on the other. The article’s focus will lie particularly in Immanuel Kant’s account of the sublime in The Critique of the Power of Judgment, which will then be connected to contemporary literature on this theme. In the end, the author wishes to draw attention to the sublimity of violence operative in contemporary discourses and demonstrate the inherent tendency that aestheticized ideology has for applauding cruelty and force.