Is an afterlife rational?

President of Üsküdar University Psychiatrist Prof. Nevzat Tarhan met with students at the psychology talks event titled "From Existence to the Search for Meaning" organized by İstanbul Technical University (ITU) Ideas and Values Club. Stating that man's search for meaning in life leads a person to a journey of finding the truth, Tarhan said that having life after death represents rational belief. Tarhan also talked about the journey that led the person to the truth.

The event, which took place at ITU Ayazağa Campus Süleyman Demirel Cultural Center, received great interest from university students.

"Humans are the only being who is aware of the past and thinks about time"

Pointing out that there are four genetic codes in humans, unlike other living things, Prof. Nevzat Tarhan stated that "One is the meaning-seeking gene, that is, the meta-cognitive genes. The second is the gene for seeking novelty. Hyperactive people have the same gene on both sides of their brains. People who are fidgety, restless, hasty, impatient, and exploratory have a higher gene for seeking innovation. The third is the past tense perception gene. Man is the only being who is aware of the past and thinks about time. The fourth is the death perception gene. Man is the only living creature who knows that they are going to die. Apart from that, no living creature knows that it will die. They eat, drink, live and die when the time comes. There is an innate code in the brain of all living things. The code of life and survival... The software in people's brains is the software of life and survival. In the depressed person, that software is broken. The will to live, the energy decreases, but when there is a sudden shock, when an event occurs, the thinking part of the brain is deactivated, the feeling part is activated. Then, , it disrupts the forebrain from constantly misusing the brain and the unwillingness to live and depression also occur."

"Responding to assumption with assumption exists only in human beings"

Stating that attribution of meaning is a genetic code in humans, Prof. Tarhan said that this is why people search for meaning. Tarhan said that "When you are looking for meaning, you think of a piece of information. If a person makes sense of that information, that person gets rid of this uncertainty. A thought or a feeling comes to your mind, you must make sense of it. There are mirror neurons that autistic children do not have, but humans do. They are like transmitter in the other party's brain. Two brains are talking, the person feels what the other party thinks and feels. There are motor mirror neurons in the brain. In motor mirror neurons, for example, if the other party is looking at you when you raise your arm, the same motor mirror neuron is activated in one’s brain. And then there are the emotional mirror neurons. If you love a person very much, or if you have bad intentions, or if you are in love, parallel emotional mirror neurons are vibrating in the other person's brain. It's just like a transmitter. Human beings transmit sound with radio frequency, but in the brain, this is something that comes from birth. For example, someone on the other side is talking. I am guessing what that person is thinking. It is called theory of mind. You assume what the other party is thinking, you attribute a meaning, and then the human brain does a second job. One is doing theory. One thinks about what the other party thinks. One perceives what other person thinks, and then one perceives what to answer them. The person is able to respond to assumption with conjecture. It is only in humans.”

"The forebrain enables the two brains to work together"

In the program, which the students followed carefully, Prof. Nevzat Tarhan also talked about how human interpretation is in the search for meaning; and said the following remarks: "The frontal region of our brain is the decision-making region. That is where it makes sense. The left brain is involved in reasoning, analysis, calculation, mathematical brain reasoning. The right brain, on the other hand, provides a holistic view of our emotions, excitements, aesthetic perception, and ethics. The forebrain enables the two brains to work together. In living things, 2/3 of the brain is the region we call frontal temporal. This region is found in the largest proportion of all living things. Meaning is the realm of decision-making. It is called the wheelhouse of the brain. It makes sense of the event and makes decisions. The human brain first recognizes the past when making these decisions. There is mathematical radar in the brain. It scans the past, predicts the future, reacts. The benevolent thought scans what the evil thought wants to say. If it scans in a healthy way, it makes healthy decisions. It needs to improve itself to scan the future..."

6 Faithful Keepers of Memory...

Prof. Nevzat Tarhan talked about the 4 basic anxieties of modern people defined by Irvin D. Yalom. Tarhan stated that “One of them is the search for meaning. When the person cannot make sense of it, anxiety increases, and one becomes depressed. The second is the fear of uncertainty. The third is the fear of death and the fourth is the fear of loneliness. In the search for meaning, people ask the questions 'Where did I come from, where am I going, and why?' There is a Canadian psychologist who calls it 5W1H. He asks the questions 'Who said what, where, when, how, why?' and calls it the '6 Faithful Keepers of Memory'. Who has a network, where a network, how a network, why a network in the brain. For example, a person speaks three languages. Let's say Turkish, English, Arabic. All three have separate networks in the brain. None of them interfere with each other when you speak, but if you speak thoughtfully, you will confuse. If the brain has learned all three from childhood, it can use them as three networks. It has to do with practice.”

"Without the frontal lobe in our brain, there is no civilization"

Stating that people have a desire to search and find their own identity, Prof. Nevzat Tarhan said that "A human being who thinks philosophically and deeply, who is aware of their own existence and future, and who asks the questions 'Why do I exist, where did I come from, where am I going?' is only human. We owe this to the frontal lobe in humans. Without the frontal lobe in our brain, there would be no civilization. The difference between the chimpanzee and the human brain is 5 percent, the genes are 95% same. With a difference of 5 percent, we became humans instead of chimpanzees. That's about some metaphysical genes, with a 5 percent difference. After all, there is a desire to ask, 'Who am I, where did I come from, where am I going?' Searching for your own identity... There are networks of 5W1H in the brain. If you act accordingly, you can be happy in this world. The brain is a great gift given to us. Anyone who can use it can do anything.”

"When quantum physics emerged, the information state of matter emerged"

Stating that the information state of matter emerged with the proof of quantum entanglement, Prof. Nevzat Tarhan said that "Proving quantum entanglement means proving the relativity of matter. Einstein had proved the relativity of time. In matter relativity, the universe is actually considered as matter-based. Later, physics and basic sciences advanced. It was said that the universe is not matter-based, but the universe is energy-based. Until 2022, it was considered so. After 2022, it became clear that the universe is digital-based, everything is digital. Meaning emerges dialectically from matter, it is accepted. When quantum physics emerged, the information state of matter emerged. Information has also been added to the three states of the article. For example, when a project is to be drawn, you first have information in your head. According to that information, you are making a deposit. Then you design and calculate, then you draw the project. Then it is necessary to implement that project. This requires strength and energy, and this is where physics comes into play."

"Mankind is currently in search of a rational belief"

Stating that people need the search for meaning and consolation, Prof. Tarhan expressed that "The first path to truth is experiment and observation, and the second is reasoning. By conducting a thought experiment with the reasoning system, the MRI device emerged. The third is rational intuition. For example, the emergence of Mozart's works was by rational intuition. Newton's discovery of the apple... There are three apples that have changed the history of humanity: The first is Adam's apple, the second is Newton's apple, and the third is Apple's apple. We can say that it changed life and the world. Thus, man has a search for meaning in life. It takes you on a journey of truth-seeking. Of the three paths that lead to truth, the first is experiment and observation, the second is reasoning, the third is rational intuition, and the fourth is rational belief. There must be a rational belief to answer the question of whether there should be a creator in the universe. Mankind is currently in search of a rational belief. The greatest need in the 21st century is to find the only true belief that is plausible. That's what people are looking for."

"Faith and science are not rivals but complements each other"

Mentioning that when faith and science complement each other, they sit on a certain ground in people's minds, Tarhan made the following remarks "Faith and science are not rivals but complements each other. These are not political issues, but purely existential ones. When they complement each other, they become reasonable on one’s mind. Then even dealing with mathematics, physics, chemistry that you do can be seen as something that the creator wants me to do. It is necessary to think that how you behave, you will act in accordance with the creator of this universe, in accordance with your divine goal, in accordance with the higher meaning. We are currently using it as a therapy method. There is a third generation of psychotherapies. One of them is to believe in a high power, a high value. To have a mental refuge, to feel that you are part of a great meaning. When you experience trauma, sadness, fear, when you learn that you are part of a great meaning, that it will not disappear after death, but will only move from one energy band to another energy band, then you say, ‘So if I do good and beautiful things in this life, then I will move on to a more beautiful life form.’ If there is no different life form after death, everything is meaningless."

"It is a rational belief that there is life after death"

Stating that a person will not be afraid of death only if he attaches meaning to the life after death, Prof. Nevzat Tarhan expressed that "All people have a desire for eternity, a sense of survival. The existence of this sense of survival shows the existence of life after death with rational reason as a cause-and-effect relationship. This is called rational belief. It is a rational belief that there is life after death because one cannot live if it does not exist. Therefore, their rational beliefs make sense if they believe that there is a life after death. How to live this life is to use the rational management of reason, which teachings are good for me, and which are in accordance with the divine goal. There is no person who is not afraid of death, but if a person has given it meaning, the person is not afraid of life after death. This is the only truth without exception, an inevitable truth..."

"The greatest proof is the mind..."

Tarhan emphasized that the greatest evidence about death is the method of reason. Tarhan stated that "The fact that this feeling is in man after death, and that there is a desire in man about life after death, carries evidence and value about the existence of the creator. If you are looking for evidence of life after death, the greatest evidence is the method of reason."

"Imperfections are part of perfection"

Stating that the flaws, errors and irregularities in the universe are actually a part of the chaos theorem, Prof. Nevzat Tarhan said that "Imperfections are part of perfection. Without it, there would be no perfection. For example, one of the fundamental energy laws of engineering is the law of thermodynamics. In the law of thermodynamics, it seems that if the entropy is high, disorder exists. The universe is moving from an order to a disorder. For example, if you do not illuminate a living room all the time, it will be dark, or if you do not heat it up, it will be cold. If you do not clean a room, there will be trash all over. When you leave the universe alone, the universe goes into a disorder, and it is necessary to maintain order with external control. We use this as behavioral entropy in psychology. In other words, if the good does not increase, the evil increases by itself. Even if the good do nothing, the bad ones are increasing at the same rate in this world."

15 students were presented with 'Psychology of Wisdom'

At the end of the event, 15 students were presented with the work titled "Psychology of Wisdom" written by Prof. Nevzat Tarhan.

Tarhan signed the books for the students.

After the raffle, President of Üsküdar University Psychiatrist Prof. Nevzat Tarhan was presented with a plaque for his participation.

 

Reporter: Eda Nur Keçeci

Üsküdar News Agency (ÜNA)