Phenomenology in Hilmi Ziya Ülken: A Reading of Husserl and Ülken’s Philosophical Position

This study aims to reveal the nature of Hilmi Ziya Ülken’s engagement with Edmund Husserl’s phenomenology. It seeks to determine under which conditions Ülken adopts Husserl’s phenomenological method, and at which points and for what reasons he departs from it. The study examines Ülken’s evaluations of phenomenology, particularly in relation to Husserl, within the framework of the project of philosophy as a rigorous science, intentionality, the problem of the transition from essences to ontology, and the question of time. The findings indicate that Ülken embraces phenomenological description as a method that overcomes philosophical and scientific reductionism. However, he considers phenomenology insufficient in grounding the criterion of objectivity and the ontological starting point. For this reason, Ülken does not base philosophical inquiry on phenomenological consciousness or epistemic constitution; instead, he grounds it in the dual structure of being, conceived as the “primary fact” (ilk olgu), drawing on Plato’s notion of the dyad. Thus, rather than constructing philosophy on a knowledge-based method, he builds it upon the fundamental dual structure of being. In conclusion, while Ülken adopts phenomenology as a method, he establishes the philosophical foundation on ontology, using phenomenological description as a constructive tool to reveal the layered structure of being.