Betül Yıldırım
Lecturer Dr. Betül Yıldırım was born on June 3, 1982 in Izmir. She graduated from Gazi University, Department of Philosophy in Ankara in 2005. In 2008, she wrote her thesis “Art and Emotion in Schopenhauer” and completed her master's degree at Gazi University, Department of Philosophy; In addition, on the same date, she completed the Non-Thesis Master's Program at Ankara University Institute of Educational Sciences. In 2021, he completed his PhD thesis on “Arthur Danto's Understanding of Art” and completed the Department of Philosophy at Ankara Hacı Bayram Veli University Institute of Educational Sciences. Before starting her academic life, Betül Yıldırım, who had the chance to work in a few social responsibility projects, especially women's studies at Hacettepe Population Studies in 2008, started working as a lecturer at Gazi University Department of Philosophy in 2012. While continuing her duty at Gazi University between 2012-2018, she continued to work at Ankara Hacı Bayram Veli University Philosophy Department in 2018 upon the division of universities. He still continues to work in the Department of Philosophy at Ankara Hacı Bayram Veli University. She teaches Philosophy of Art, Contemporary Art Movements, Philosophical Problems in Works of Art, Aesthetics at the university. His areas of interest are Art History, Philosophy of Art, Music, Painting and Cinema. Recently, he has been working as an editor for a series on the analysis of works of art in a publishing house.
Dubitatio: Quis sum?
The exhibition will allow us to turn inward, face ourselves, and explore our essence from life to death. It will not only be a visual experience but also a mental journey, opening the doors to an experience that offers more than mere observation.
I am, I exist, this is certain. But for how long? Certainly only for as long as I am thinking; for perhaps if I were to cease from all thinking it might also come to pass that I might immediately cease altogether to exist.
Descartes; Meditations
"Dubitatio" is a state of expression—a manifestation of doubt. By questioning my existence and the reason for being here, I become myself. As I try to make sense of my surroundings, I create; I give birth to science, philosophy, and art. The more I question, the greater my curiosity grows. My world, once so small in the womb, expands with each passing day.
For thousands of years, in my struggle within the sea of philosophical doubt, Descartes begins with doubt to prove existence, arriving at "cogito ergo sum" (I think, therefore I am). Human beings are creatures of doubt. They can question the truth of their thoughts, the reality of nature, and even existence itself. The only thing they do not doubt is their doubt. This is the sole knowledge we can hold onto. In fact, the beginning of philosophy itself lies in this doubt. If my doubt is the first step of my existence and the only branch I cling to, then it is necessary to elevate the matter to the next stage by asking this question within this whirlpool of doubt: Who am I?
Defining who I am and determining my place in this world is not as easy as it seems. The entire history of philosophy is filled with ideas and inquiries of this kind across different periods. Ancient Greece questioned what I and other beings are made of; Plato claimed that I am a soul waiting to escape the prison of the body, with knowledge that is innate; Descartes argued that I am a unity of body and soul; Locke tied the source of my knowledge solely to experience; Kant asserted that my ability to acquire knowledge is innate, but the way I obtain knowledge depends on experience. Today, existence is positioned in terms of the mind-body relationship.
But when I truly turn inward, who is the person I find? Am I a part of nature or opposed to it? A thinking being? A finite being? Or perhaps a combination of all these?
Designed in two parts, the exhibition will allow us to turn inward, face ourselves, and explore our essence from life to death. It will not only be a visual experience but also a mental journey, opening the doors to an experience that offers more than mere observation.