Hasan Tahsini | |
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| Born | 7 April 1811 |
| Died | 3 July 1881(1881-07-03) (aged 70) |
| Citizenship | Ottoman |
| Alma mater | University of Paris |
| Scientific career | |
| Fields | astronomy,psychology |
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Hoxhë Hasan Tahsini or simplyHoxha Tahsim (7 April 1811 – 3 July 1881)[1] was anAlbanianalim, astronomer, mathematician and philosopher. He was the first rector ofIstanbul University[2] and one of the founders of theCentral Committee for Defending Albanian Rights. Tahsini is regarded as one of the most prominent scholars of theOttoman Empire of the 19th century.[3]
Hasan Tahsini was born in 1811 in the village of Ninat,Konispol, then part of theOttoman Empire. His father OsmanEfendi Rushiti was a member of theulama. When he was young he worked as tutor to the sons of Hayrullah Efendi, Minister of Education of theOttoman Empire. Hayrullah Efendi later appointed Tahsini to the staff of the Ottoman school of Paris, where Tahsini taughtTurkish and religious sciences, while also being theimam of the Ottoman embassy and a student of mathematics and natural sciences at theUniversity of Paris.[4] He studied in Paris for twelve years after being sent there by Resid Pasha, who was trying to create a Westernizedulama elite. In 1869 Tahsini returned in theOttoman Empire to accompany the body ofFuad Pasha who had died inNice. His brother is Ferik Hoxha, his nephew is Xhaferr Hoxha, the father ofBilal Xhaferi.
In 1870 he became the firstrector of the newly establishedIstanbul University, where he gave lectures on physics, astronomy and psychology. The government appointed Tahsini as rector as it was believed that he could establish a balance between western European and Islamic methods and ideologies.[5] However, at that time Tahsini's scientific research and unreserved liberalism led to him being frequently attacked by conservativeulama circles[4] The attacks against Tahsini began when he conducted experiments in order to illustrate the notion ofvacuum to his students.[6] Tahsini placed a pigeon underneath a glass bell, emptied the receptacle and the pigeon eventually suffocated proving Tahsini's theory. The conservative circles considered Tahsini's experiment as evidence of witchcraft and performance of magic.[6] After the experiment he was declared a heretic through afatwa, dismissed from the university, and disallowed to give lectures.[6] The university was also closed for a period becauseJamal-al-Din Afghani, another professor influenced by Tahsini, supported his theories.[6]
Tahsini wrote the first Turkish language treatise on psychology titledPsychology or the Science of Soul, a work influenced by modernism and the first book whose title contained the wordpsychology.[4][7][2] He also wrote the first Turkish-language book on modern astronomy being also the firstpopular science book in Turkish.[4] Other works of Tahsini in the Turkish language include a translation ofConstantin François de Chassebœuf'sLoi Naturelle.[4]
Tahsini was a prominent member of theCentral Committee for Defending Albanian Rights established in Istanbul, 1877.[8] The Committee for Defending Albanian Rights appointed Tahsini along withSami Frashëri,Pashko Vasa andJani Vreto to create an Albanian alphabet which by 19 March 1879 the group approved Frashëri's 36 letter alphabet consisting mostly of Latin characters.[9] Tahsini during the process had worked withSami Frasheri, one of the most important figures of theAlbanian National Awakening to develop a unique alphabet of theAlbanian language.[2][10] According to Tahsini the alphabet was developed in such way that each letter required the least hand movements to be written.
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