Prof. Nevzat Tarhan: “We live in an age that glorifies pleasure”
President of Üsküdar University, Psychiatrist Prof. Nevzat Tarhan pointed out that the wisdom that makes individuals 'human' has declined in parallel with the increase in the level of financial welfare in societies, whereas wisdom is only possible with self-education, and evaluated the pleasure-oriented life culture. Tarhan said that "Leaning towards pleasure is something that moves us. However, a person must use their mind to transform this for the benefit of our lives. The real freedom is not to do what you like, but to do what we want in spite of our own desires and impulses because in every human being there are temptations and seductive maleficent parts. If you train these maleficent parts, if you make those wild feelings accept that 'No, I am the boss,' Those feelings inside you will take you wherever you want.".
Noting that we live in an age where wisdom is underestimated and pleasure is glorified globally, Prof. Nevzat Tarhan said that they have developed "pleasure harm perception" and "result consciousness" scales for those who cannot manage pleasure. Tarhan said that "We are trying to show these people that. If you continue to pursue pleasure, what is likely to await you? What is the natural consequence of your action? People do not understand their perception of harm, and they work with them how to perceive harm. Thus, if you keep drinking alcohol, your liver will be like this, your brain is aging, your brain cells are dying, you are going to have early dementia, you are going to get Alzheimer's, we are telling you these things with evidence. Then, the person will have a perception of harm.". Pointing out that a person who cannot educate themselves cannot be the leader of someone else, Prof. Nevzat Tarhan explained the definition of "neuroleadership" as follows: "We will be our own leader first. Being able to manage our own desires and impulses, and hormones in the brain such as dopamine, serotonin and pleasure is leadership. There is a wild horse in all of us, it wants to live according to whatever it pleases, to go in the direction it wants. If you make those wild feelings inside you accept that 'No, I'm the boss,', those feelings will take you where you want to go. We will be our own leaders first. It is called neuroleadership".
"It is necessary to put limits on both pleasure and pain"
Pointing out that it is in the biological nature of human beings to escape from pain and leaning towards pleasure, Prof. Nevzat Tarhan stated that "This is related to the reward punishment system in the human brain. A human being is trying to avoid subjects that have grief or fear at the end. It makes choice decisions within a reward penalty system. It tries to gravitate toward what is a reward. And that is how the biological rhythm works. However, not everything that gives pleasure is for one’s benefit. A person needs to adjust the dose. For example, you like baklava, it is harmful when you eat it in excessive amounts. In order to eliminate that limitlessness and eternity of pleasure, man must be able to set limits for themselves. One needs to put limits on both pleasure and pain. If a person can do that, they can manage themselves.".
"Delay of gratification is a skill"
Stating that pleasure is a source of motivation for life, Prof. Nevzat Tarhan said that it is possible for students to endure the trouble of sitting and studying while turning on the television, playing computer games, traveling and wandering around thanks to the "ability of delay of gratification.". Tarhan said that "The ability of delay of gratification exists only in human beings. There is no delay of gratification in other creatures. Delay of gratification is a skill and is innately absent. You postpone the reward, you postpone it. That's why you can put up with some things. The whole job here is to manage the reward punishment system in the brain, and to manage it means to manage oneself. For example, the expectation of heaven after death is also a reward in believers, and it serves the reward in the brain as a long-term benefit.".
"Pleasure is like nuclear energy"
Prof. Nevzat Tarhan stated that the biggest reason for the spread of substance abuse is that people cannot manage their pleasure, and said that "We teach people pleasure management and the ability of delay of gratification in therapies. We give them endurance training. The types of people who run away from difficulty, who run away from easy, who are vulnerable have increased. Pleasure is like nuclear energy. Pleasure leads human to the goal, and activates a person. However, you miss your dose and use it incorrectly, it will explode and harm people if you miss your dose and use it incorrectly. The main thing is to be able to discipline our own desires and impulses."
"The world has turned into a digital prison"
Stating that with the increase in the use of social media, a society of pretention has emerged in which everyone can watch and observe each other, Tarhan said that "Our world of meaning has changed. There are no more personal boundaries. Postmodern identities began to be constructed. In the past, there was an imperialism formed by oppression and intimidation. Now there is voluntary imperialism. We spread it voluntarily. We could be ourselves before. However, now we are not ourselves, and we have become an object. The world has now turned into a digital prison where anyone can spy on everyone. Our freedom has been severely restricted. We think we are free; however, there is a false freedom. Since we have turned into a society of pretention 'who is more showing off, how is other person doing, what other people wear, with whom they are, how are they acting, who is doing what', people's energy is wasted in such a constantly pleasure-oriented and appreciation-oriented life.".
"We have become a society of comparison"
Prof. Nevzat Tarhan stated that people can easily become depressed as a result of spying and comparing each other and continued: "A system that makes most people unhappy is not a correct system. At present, the capitalist system promotes consumer society. We have become an image society. Images replaced the truths. This has become a means of consumption. The person who shows themselves as the best, who explains themselves best, becomes the most valuable. People want to be 'desirable'. There is this feeling in man, but man uses it in the wrong way. One satisfies their own ego. Individual benefit came to the fore. Self-centeredness was exalted. Moreover, people are in a charm where everything is like the life of the world. In this attraction, they do not think long-term, they say 'live the moment'. Living the moment has been glorified. Its equivalent in psychology is 'live in the moment'. It is something that has been said in order not to dispel the past and the future with 'wishes' and 'what ifs', but to do justice to the present. There is an approach like ‘go with the flow, never think about the future, break the chains, you only live once'. Here, one becomes a very self-centered person, and trapped in their pleasures. Right now, postmodernism is revealing the type of person trapped in a sense of pretention.".
"Physical training has replaced nafs training"
Pointing out that the basic truths in society have been replaced by image, showmanship and praise, Tarhan stated that "It has changed the needs of human beings in human relations. Basic needs have been replaced by a feeling of appreciation, praise and desirability. Instead of improving themselves, educating themselves, taming their desires and impulses, individuals leaned towards training their body. Physical upbringing replaced nafs training. In such cases, with the effort to 'make my body perfect', consumptions that are constantly useful to the cosmetic industry emerge. The target of consumption has been image, identity, status and prestige for us."
"Narcissism has increased to epidemic levels"
Prof. Nevzat Tarhan stated that as a result of the change in consumption behavior and the transformation of society into a society of show, people who consider themselves superior and do not empathize with others at all have emerged. Tarhan said that "People who worship themselves have emerged. They sanctify themselves. It is called narcissism, admiring yourself, seeing yourself as a god on the earth, and not tolerating criticism. Not caring about people who are suffering, not caring about the needs of others. Such types of people have multiplied, and even a book called 'The Narcissism Epidemic' has appeared in the United States. The biggest reason for this is that people shop for image instead of basic, real needs. Shopping to show that he has a separate status, a special privilege for themselves, has changed the consumption behavior.”. Tarhan continued: "If half of a society is happy and the other half is unhappy, there can be no peace there. Everyone should be provided with a minimum level of happiness; however, the current postmodernist consumption-oriented system encourages people to act according to their desires, not their real needs. When shopping you have to ask yourself 'I want this, but do I need it?'".
Üsküdar News Agency (ÜNA)