Prof. Nevzat Tarhan: “It is important aim for peace instead of global wealth”

Üsküdar University organized the 4th Annual Meeting with the theme of "Psychological Resilience" and it is ended with announce of declaration which emphasizes world peace. President of Üsküdar University Prof. Nevzat Tarhan stated that the materialist system could not produce solutions for people to be happy and said, "When people are not happy, there is no point in the world being wealthy. The science of happiness, that is, positive psychology, is the last refuge against capitalism. It is very important to aim for global peace.". Stating that there is a tendency towards the process rather than the goal in positive psychology, Tarhan said, "If the right goal becomes the right method, there is no goal that cannot be reached. If we cannot change the course of events, we need to change the way we look at things.".

Positive Psychology, the last refuge of capitalism...

The 4th Annual Meeting organized by Üsküdar University with the theme of "Psychological Resilience gathered experts from the world and Türkiye in the field. On the second day of the International Congress of Positive Psychology, conferences, panels and workshops were held.

The congress ended with a panel titled "Raising Children in Marriage and Emotional Intelligence in Education and Business Life". Moreover, President of Üsküdar University Prof. Nevzat Tarhan, who is also the president of the congress, made a presentation titled "Emotional Intelligence in Marriage".

Prof. Nevzat Tarhan: "If people are not happy, wealth has no meaning"

Stating that mindfulness, happiness science or positive psychology is the last refuge of capitalism, Prof. Nevzat Tarhan said, "Capitalism has no other choice either. We are talking about information that shows the sating as the Americans say, "money does not buy happiness." The U.S. puts everything into statistical data. Between 1950 and 2000, the gross national product in the United States increased from an average of $ 20,000 to $ 35,000. However, the proportion of people who say 'I am very happy' has tended to decrease. This means 'we are getting richer, but we are not happy'. We see that the materialist system cannot produce solutions for human beings to be happy. When a person is not happy, there is no point in the world being rich. It is very important to aim for global peace."

Prof. Nevzat Tarhan: "There was a problem in Einstein's emotional intelligence"

Giving the example of Einstein on emotional intelligence, Prof. Nevzat Tarhan said, "Einstein, Nobel Prize winner in physics, had a very high intelligence, an excellent violin playing and had incredible chess playing abilities, however, there was a problem in his emotional intelligence. In about the 10^th year of his marriage, he told his wife, 'If you want me to stay married to you, do not complain about me, bring my food to my room regularly for 3 meals, do not expect friendship and closeness from me.' Einstein's wife did not accept this and they separated. He focused on his work, he had been successful, but his happiness seems to be questionable. We are on our way to implementing what Einstein could not discover.".

Prof. Nevzat Tarhan: "Türkiye is the country with the lowest extramarital birth rate"

Pointing out that Turkey has a rate of 2.9 percent compared to European countries when the extramarital birth rates of 2016 are examined, Prof. Nevzat Tarhan said, "This rate was 54 percent in Sweden. In countries such as Norway, France and Estonia, the rate is over 50 percent. It is reported as 69 percent in Iceland, 35 percent in Germany, 22 percent in Russia and 21 percent in Ukraine. It is seen that the lowest rate is in Türkiye. After 10-20 years, this figure in Türkiye may reach the levels of European countries. We are heading towards such a world. Marriage rates in Türkiye increased by 1.6 percent between 2001 and 2018, while divorce rates increased by 54 percent. Türkiye is also moving towards becoming a small Scandinavian country.".

Prof. Nevzat Tarhan: "Human beings are a relational being"

Stating that human beings are a relational being, Prof. Nevzat Tarhan said, "The first place where that relationality is formed is the family, which is a small society. It is even considered the smallest psychological field. In psychology there is field theory. The theory is that it is unrealistic to make people happy without that field. The OECD statistics in 2019 show that we are the first in the world in violence against women with a rate of 38 percent. After Türkiye, the USA, New Zealand, Lithuania, Denmark and Finland follow. Unfortunately, we are in the first place in such a negative issue.".

Prof. Nevzat Tarhan: "All goals can be achieved with the right goal and the right method"

Prof. Nevzat Tarhan stated that they will continue next year the International Positive Psychology Congress, which they held for the 4^th time this year and Tarhan said, "If a new variant does not emerge, we plan to make it more face-to-face. In positive psychology, there is a tendency towards process rather than purpose. If the right goal is the right method, there is no goal that cannot be reached. However, biologically unnatural goals, such as transforming women into men, are excluded. If we cannot change the course of events, we need to change the way we look at things. When we change the point of view, we can manage the event even if we cannot control it. Positive psychology teaches people that.".

Prof. Sırrı Akbaba: "Quality family environment is important in the development of the child"

Üsküdar University Advisor to the Rector Prof. Sırrı Akbaba, who moderated the panel, emphasized the importance of a quality family structure and education in the development of the child in his speech titled "Emotional Intelligence in Education". Stating that education is the process of humanization as a result of learning and teaching, Prof. Sırrı Akbaba said, "Development is the process of becoming competent as a result of education. It is not possible to have an emotionless education and development. Education is needed for positive emotions to blossom. Especially, care, affection and love of the mother or caregiver of the baby is very important.".

Prof. Sevinç Serpil Aytaç: "Emotional intelligence is flexible, open to change and development"

In the panel, Prof. Sevinç Serpil Aytaç from Fenerbahçe University Faculty of Economics, Administrative and Social Sciences made evaluations on emotional intelligence in business life. Stating that emotional intelligence is flexible and open to change and development, Prof. Sevinç Serpil Aytaç said, "The most important factors that provide this situation have been revealed by recognizing the importance of having an EQ level in addition to IQ to achieve happiness and success throughout life.".

Peace declaration by Üsküdar University

At the end of the congress, while the War between Russia and Ukraine continued, a declaration was also read under the title 'Is War Necessary?' emphasizing world peace.

The declaration stated as follows:

IS WAR NECESSARY?

"Global trend surveys show that humanity does not want war, and even political authorities are inclined not to go into this madness due to the fear of nuclear war because humanity has tasted freedom, peace and tranquility. Today, when the world is an electronic village, those who bully will lose.

The need for the United Nations to be the world parliament to ensure global peace has become even more pronounced. This was first said by the philosopher Kant, the father of the Enlightenment.

Today, psychological sciences say that persuasion and assuring are the only and adequate solution. Any military success without ideology is short-term because the justification for this war is not in the power to be backed by the public conscience.

They asked to Mevlana Rumi who is the inspiration of Positive Psychology that “what is jihad?” and he said “it is taking the gun from the hands of the madman”.

It should not be forgotten that no matter how justified the reasons are, the country that pulls the first trigger and attacks will always remain in a position to be condemned and stopped in the eyes of the world public opinion.

In the Russian-Ukrainian war, it would be in the best interest of both themselves and the countries around them for the parties to put an end to the conflict as soon as possible and to solve the issue through diplomacy. It is also devastating that two neighbors and brotherly people are shedding each other's blood. Moreover, it has once again been seen that the war harms not only the warring factions, but also the neighbors and the whole world in economic, political and cultural dimensions.

It is possible that the Black Sea will cease to be an area of power war and show of force by foreign powers and it will become a sea where all littoral people carry out activities of fishing, mining and sea trade by being a sea without soldiers and weapons.

Our hope is that this war can serve as a lesson in terms of showing the parties what they can do and to what extent.

In order to ensure a lasting peace after the end of the hot conflict, it is essential that the political and economic power circles in the world stay away from provocations that trigger possible wars.

The way of the mind says "Persuasion, assuring”, and the path of science says "diplomacy."

This war is not Ukraine's war, it is a war of global peace and democracy. We have decided to show our side in this direction.

Respectfully announced to the public."

Üsküdar News Agency (ÜNA)