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Journals / Ankara Üniversitesi İlahiyat Fakültesi Dergisi / 2026 / Cilt: 67 Sayı: 1

The Aesthetic Foundations of Moral Decisions: An Experimental Study Using Representations of the Qāḍī and Dervish Yūnus

Ahlaki Kararların Estetik Temelleri: Kadı ve Derviş Yunus Temsilleriyle Deneysel Bir Çalışma

Muhammed Huzeyfe Gültekin(ATATÜRK ÜNİVERSİTESİ)0000-0003-3861-3921
Bilal Koçak(Atatürk Üniversitesi)0000-0002-2220-6531
Pages
193–204
Publication Date
2026-05-31
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AI Summary & Key Takeaways

AI Insight
⚡ TL;DR(Too Long; Didn't Read)

The findings revealed that those who read the moral dilemma stories from an aesthetic perspective made more flexible moral decisions cognitively than those who read them from an ethical perspective.

📌 3 Key Takeaways

🎯
Objective & Hypothesis:According to the prevailing paradigm, normative values are considered important in people's moral decision-making processes.
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Key Findings & Data:According to the analysis results, a moderate statistically significant difference was determined between the two groups (p<0.01).
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Conclusion & Impact:The findings revealed that those who read the moral dilemma stories from an aesthetic perspective made more flexible moral decisions cognitively than those who read them from an ethical perspective.
🔬Design:Araştırma Makalesi
📍Scope:Comprehensive Sample
⚙️Variables:Ahlaki Yargı · Etik · Estetik

Abstract

According to the prevailing paradigm, normative values are considered important in people's moral decision-making processes. However, many studies have found that aesthetic sensitivity provides cognitive flexibility in people's moral decisions. Based on this, we argue that when people are exposed to aesthetic associations in stories involving moral dilemmas, they will make more flexible judgments than when exposed to ethical associations. For this purpose, moral dilemma stories were designed to be asked to participants, and the same moral dilemma stories were read to half of the participants with the “Qāḍī Yūnus” narrative, which evoked ethical associations, and to the other half with the “Dervish Yūnus” narrative, which evoked aesthetic associations. The data obtained were analyzed using an independent samples t-test. According to the analysis results, a moderate statistically significant difference was determined between the two groups (p<0.01). The effect size provided evidence that the statistically significant difference between the two groups was caused by the difference in the independent variable (d=2.31). The findings revealed that those who read the moral dilemma stories from an aesthetic perspective made more flexible moral decisions cognitively than those who read them from an ethical perspective. In conclusion, this study makes an original contribution to the literature by experimentally demonstrating the role of aesthetic sensitivity in moral dilemma assessments.

Özet

Hakim paradigmaya göre insanların ahlaki karar verme süreçlerinde normatif değerlerin önemli olduğu düşünülür. Ancak birçok çalışma estetik duyarlılığın insanların ahlaki kararlarında bilişsel bir esneklik sağladığını tespit etmiştir. Buradan hareketle insanların ahlaki ikilem barındıran hikayelerde estetik çağrışıma maruz kaldıklarında etik çağrışıma göre daha esnek değerlendirmede bulunacaklarını öne sürmekteyiz. Bu amaçla katılımcılara sorulmak üzere ahlaki ikilem hikayeleri tasarlanmış ve aynı ahlaki ikilem hikayeleri katılımcıların yarısına etik çağrışım uyandıran “Kadı Yunus”, diğer yarısına estetik çağrışım uyandıran “Derviş Yunus “anlatımıyla okutulmuştur. Elde edilen veriler bağımsız örneklem T-Testi ile analiz edilmiştir. Analiz sonuçlarına göre, iki grup arasında orta düzeyde anlamlı fark belirlenmiştir (p<0,01). Etki büyüklüğü iki grup arasındaki anlamlı farkın bağımsız değişkende gerçekleştirilen fark tarafından meydana getirildiğine kanıt sunmuştur (d=2.31). Bulgulara göre ahlaki ikilem hikâyelerini estetik karakterden okuyanların, etik karakterden okuyanlara göre bilişsel olarak daha esnek ahlaki kararlar verdikleri saptanmıştır. Sonuç olarak bu çalışma, ahlaki ikilem değerlendirmelerinde estetik duyarlılığın rolünü deneysel olarak ortaya koyarak literatüre özgün bir katkı sunmaktadır.

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Cite This Article

Gültekin, M. H., Koçak, B. (2026). The Aesthetic Foundations of Moral Decisions: An Experimental Study Using Representations of the Qāḍī and Dervish Yūnus. Ankara Üniversitesi İlahiyat Fakültesi Dergisi, Cilt: 67 Sayı: 1, 193–204. https://doi.org/10.33227/auifd.1755596

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