Economic and moral organization of the Ottoman Society in the Tanzimat Period: Sadık Rifat Paşa's Ahlâk Risalesi

Abstract

There are many ahlâk treatises, which were used for educational purposes at the schools of the Tanzimat period (sıbyan mektepleri). These were mostly short booklets composed of advices for children with the assumption that youngsters were more apt to be trained. Sadık Rifat Paşa's Ahlâk Risalesi was one of them. The treatise begins with the statement that the counsels within should be accepted as a father's advice. The mature experiences and memories of the father are thus transferred in a simple way to the children.Sadık Rifat Paşa was an official of the Tanzimat period. He wrote down his thoughts and experiences during his last years, as he did all through his life. Ahlâk Risalesi belongs to that period. The treatise illustrates the difference between good and evil, with the memories of Sadık Rifat Paşa as its background. This thesis tries to explore how the correlations were created between state and society, and what were the economic and moral values in Sadık Rifat Paşa's societal project in his Ahlâk Risalesi.