Inserting ruh into the psyche : Mustafa Şekip Tunç and the interplay of Islamic spirituality and psychoanalytic thought

Abstract

This paper situates the trajectory of psychoanalysis in Turkey within broader debates about the soul (ruh) in the late Ottoman Empire when psychological studies were deeply intertwined with philosophical and spiritual considerations. It first provides a history of how Freud’s ideas were introduced into Turkey, focusing on Mustafa Şekip Tunç’s pivotal role. Then, it analyses Tunç’s writings on psychoanalysis, particularly his engagement with the concepts of the unconscious and the libido. It shows that Tunç’s work was not merely a translation of Freud’s ideas into the Turkish context; rather, Freud served as an intermediary in Tunç’s articulation of an alternative conception of the subject, namely “corporeal man” (müşahhas insan), emphasizing uniqueness, individuality, and irreplaceability against the prevailing trends of mechanization and positivism. At the core of this conception was an ethical endeavour to preserve the spiritual and divine essence of the modern human subject, a plea against reducing it to mere political purposes and statistics. Unfortunately, this endeavour was confined to the male subject, leaving the female subject constrained by traditional gender roles and excluded from this broader ethical vision.