Abstract:

This article aims to study the pamphlet Taṣnīf’ al ʿUlūm written in Ottoman Turkish by İzmirli İsmail Hakkı (d. 1946), and to provide information on the date the pamphlet was written, its belonging, its individuality, and its content on the basis of its only known copy. In order to ensure unity as well as pointing out the place of the pamphlet in the literature, the article also touches upon the other works of İzmirli such as Falsafa-Ḥikma and Fann al Manāhij, which includes İzmirli’s thoughts on System of Sciences. Besides, his views on the knowledge and disciplines prevalent in his era are introduced within the framework of Taṣnīf al-ʿUlūm. The main problems and topics discussed in the pam-phlet are identified within the philosophy-science context through which İzmirli pro-duced ideas. In this way, the ontological/ metaphysical, epistemological and methodolog-ical approaches of İzmirli to classical and modern science classifications are discussed in the context of the text. This article, in which the science classifications in the modern period are particularly criticized, also presents the criteria by which the author analysed the classifications of the western philosophers and clarifies the criteria by which an acceptable and ideal classification should be made. Thus, the classification model adopt-ed by İzmirli among the existing science schemes has been put forward.