Speaking on KRT TV, Ari said that he "becomes exasperated" when the literacy rate increases in Turkey.
"I prefer to trust the foresight of the ignorant and the illiterate in this country. The people who will make sure this country survives are the illiterates, the ignorant [people] and those who haven't even studied at primary school," he said.
He went even further by saying that well-educated people pose a threat to Turkey's security.
"The most dangerous people in Turkey are the literates, professors and university graduates who draw Turkey into chaos. People at university and those [with] further [education] are in a perilous situation because their minds are muddled," he said.
Separately, he cautioned against spreading panic and fear among the population of Turkey in connection with the threat of new terrorist attacks.
He also warned that President Recep Tayyip Erdogan's possible resignation will be fraught with serious consequences.
"If Erdogan steps down, we will face a real catastrophe. Perhaps we will have to die in order to leave the younger generation a legacy. We must admit that we all are now living in the conditions of an undeclared war," he added.
The Academics for Peace petition has been signed by 1,128 local and international scientists, in a move that was harshly criticized by Erdogan, who referred to the signatories as "poor excuses for intellectuals."
