Love and Morality: The Humanist Quests of Hilmi Ziya Ülken and Kenneth E. Boulding

Hilmi Ziya Ülken is one of the most influential figures in contemporary Turkish thought. Ülken developed a sociological approach grounded in philosophy, entered philosophy through ethics, and demonstrated a productive intellectual effort to address the social problems of his time. Throughout this intellectual endeavour, he consistently maintained the conviction that Türkiye needed a humanistic awakening. Approximately thirty years later, Kenneth E. Boulding, one of the most influential economists of the twentieth century, pursued a distinctive path outside mainstream economics, exploring themes such as moral science, general systems theory, and the grants economy. Boulding sought to develop a humanistic vision of economics to attain a better world. His conception of a better world, encompassing morality, love, and an integrated social science, bears notable similarities to Ülken's efforts to realise humanism. This is also an indicator of the originality of contemporary Turkish thought. However, this study contends that both Ülken's and Boulding's efforts to develop a comprehensive social science ultimately fail to realise their full theoretical potential due to their commitment to soft naturalism. In Ülken's case, the potential of contemporary Turkish thought was undermined and ultimately frustrated by naturalism.