Prof. Nevzat Tarhan: "Norms are the values produced by human beings."

Stating that as people become civilized, legal norms also emerge, Psychiatrist Prof. Nevzat Tarhan said that "If we live in a society, values such as respecting someone else's rights, not lying, and being honest are determined by social and moral norms."
Stating that every society has defects and norms that differ according to culture, Tarhan said that "Norms are the values produced by people. They can be classified into legal norms, social norms and moral norms. Being honest and not lying, even in a place where no one sees it, is part of moral norms."

President of Üsküdar University, Psychiatrist Prof. Nevzat Tarhan discussed the subject of human, natural law and norms.

Philosophy and religion are also part of science

Stating that according to the old view, human beings were accepted as a part of nature, Prof. Tarhan expressed that "However, this view has started to change in recent years. Science consists of proven information that is a candidate to be proven. Today, as the number of proven information increases, the number of candidates for proof decreases. It turns out that everything outside of science was actually once scientific. Philosophy and religion are also part of science. When we say that man is a part of nature, then we make man identical with nature. Human beings have psychosocial needs. There is a human being's soul structure, a matter structure. It has a different mental structure that other living things do not have."

Man is not a part of nature

Pointing out that human beings consist of two components, matter and spirit, Prof. Tarhan stated that "Soul is an invisible part outside of matter, beyond space and time. It is called religion. In our culture, in our belief system, there is a part of a person known as the soul. When we examine the psychosocial needs of other living things, eating, drinking, reproducing, sheltering... However, when we examine the spiritual structure and behavior of human beings, there are four paths that lead to truth other than matter. The first is experimentation and observation, the second is methods of reasoning, the third is rational intuition, and the fourth is rational belief. All four are paths that lead to the truth. There is a fact that emerges when we use these ways. Man is not a part of nature.”

There is a sense of freedom and independence in man

Stating that human beings tend to surpass nature, Tarhan said that "While other living things adapt to nature, human beings have a sense of freedom, freedom and independence. This shows that human beings have meta-cognitive abilities. Man has the function of transcending their environment and expanding their borders."

Stating that human beings have the ability to surpass nature, Tarhan said that "The civilizations we have established throughout history are a proof of this. Has any living thing ever established a civilization? Has he produced abstract thought, literature, artistic works? Has he developed symbolic thinking? Man has done all of this. The presence of these productions indicates that there is a spiritual part in man. Science cannot ignore this spiritual part."

Human beings also have needs at a higher level

Expressing that "Human being do not surrender to the pressure of the environment; wants to overcome the environment," Tarhan pointed out to Maslow's pyramid of psychosocial needs. Tarhan made the following remarks: "Human beings also have higher level needs. These needs are more advanced requirements such as thinking above the mind, producing philosophy, and dominating nature. Maslow calls this 'self-transcendence', that is, the need to transcend oneself, to dominate the world by transcending one's own capacity and the pressure of the environment. This situation is defined as 'self-consciousness' and this consciousness is not found in any living thing other than humans. While other living things only complete the cycle of eating, drinking, reproduction and life, a human being thinks about transcending themselves, somehow existing even if one dies, producing philosophy and dominating the world."

Human being have an immaterial and invisible reality

Noting that whether it is called religion, meaning, meaning or spirit, human beings have an immaterial, invisible reality, Tarhan continued his remarks as follows:

"We need to seek out this reality. For a long time, positive science ignored this reality. However, it became clear that matter does not actually exist as we thought with the advent of quantum physics. What we call matter is actually based only on our subjective observations. In fact, there is no such thing as matter. According to string theory, matter is made up of magnetic particles and is bound together by quantum entanglement. Quantum entanglement reveals that matter does not actually exist. In other words, matter is something that exists only through our perception. When we reach the limits of our perception, we call matter what we see as hardness. Therefore, nature and the universe can be a kind of simulation. Even Elon Musk has spoken about this possibility. We may be living in a simulation right now, and according to quantum information, this seems to be the case. As part of this simulation, man has the capacity to create his own simulation. The metaverse is an example of this. It is a simulation environment. That is how we live in a simulation in the universe."

Self-transcendence...

Expressing that "There is a part of human beings that transcends their material structure, and this part is called the soul," Tarhan explained that analyzing the soul, acting in accordance with it, trying to find the truth with rational beliefs and intuitions is what makes a human being human and distinguishes them from other living things.

Prof. Tarhan said that "This is how people who manage to overcome themselves emerge. Therefore, humans are such a being that they do not depend on their environment and its inclinations. On the contrary, it wants to break free from the bonds of the environment and open up to the world. Unlike other living things, human beings have a sense of value, and this consciousness enables human beings to produce values. For example, independence and freedom are values. Because it produces these values, human beings have a sense of value. There are norms in nature. These are natural laws, such as Newton's laws. The burning of fire, the poisoning of arsenic are the norms of nature. However, as man became civilized, legal norms also emerged. These norms are laws that distinguish between the civilized and the uncivilized, and they are determined by the rules of law in civilized societies."

Norms are the values that human beings produce

Stating that the first feature that makes a person human is not that he carves the stone, but that a person builds a fence between them and their neighbor, Prof. Tarhan expressed that "This is the first beginning of law. The second is social norms. If we live in a society, values such as respecting someone else's rights, not lying, and being honest are determined by social and moral norms. For example, if you walk the streets in pajamas, people will laugh at you. This is a social norm. Every society has its faults and norms that differ according to the culture. Norms are the values that human beings produce. They can be classified into legal norms, social norms and moral norms. Being honest and not lying, even in a place where no one sees it, is part of moral norms."

Noting that norms can be transmitted not only culturally but also genetically, Tarhan stated that "In this process called epigenetics, if these norms are taught and continued for several generations, they are transferred to children as genetic polymorphisms. If these norms are not taught, they will be lost in the next generation."

Religion and philosophy deal with the question of why the universe exists

Noting that positive science deals with how the universe works, how events occur, and religion and philosophy deal with the question of why the universe exists, Prof. Tarhan stated that "When a book comes to you, when positive science looks at this book, it examines what material the paper is made of, how it is written, and with what tools it is produced. That is, it deals with the physical characteristics of the book and the process of writing it. Religion and philosophy deal with questions such as who wrote this book and why it was written. If we think of the universe as a book, positive science appears as a discipline that studies how this book works, the laws of physics, chemistry and biology. However, questions such as why the universe exists, and how intelligent life forms emerged from mindless and inanimate matter fall within the realm of religion and philosophy, not positive science."

Belief in God is now a knowledge proven by reason, rational intuition, and rational faith

Pointing out that the coming together of inanimate substances to form life is beyond the limits of positive science, Tarhan stated that "At this point, religion and philosophy come into play and question the meaning and reason of this event. This, in turn, leads us to the existence of an external reality. Just because something is invisible does not mean it does not exist. The greatest proof of this is the existence of dark matter. Although the existence of dark matter has been proven, it is invisible. The existence of a creator in the universe is currently invisible to the eye, but this does not mean that it does not exist. When the famous Swiss psychiatrist Carl Jung was asked, ‘Do you believe in God’ he replied, ‘ I do not, believe, but I know.’ What Jung means here is that the existence of God is now an indisputable reality, just as certain as two times two equals four. Therefore, belief in God is now a knowledge proven by reason, rational intuition, and rational faith. However, this refers to the understanding of God in monotheism. Depictions of God outside of monotheism are considered contrary to reason."

Ibn Sina calls Allah a necessary being

Stating that Ibn Sina thought deeply about the concept of existence and defined this concept as "necessary existence" by referring to Allah, Tarhan noted that he called this concept Necessary Being (Vacib-ul Vucud).

Stating that Ibn Sina argued that we can understand God through reasoning, Tarhan said that "According to him, Allah can be seen through the eyes of reason, not with the physical eye. Ibn Sina calls God a necessary being, that is, the entity that must be. We can understand God through reasoning. We see God through the eyes of reason. We cannot see it with our eyes."

 

Üsküdar News Agency (ÜNA)