Psychiatrist Prof. Dr. Nevzat Tarhan, Founding Rector of Üsküdar Üniversitesi, addressed the topic of “Ethics” in the program “Prof. Dr. Nevzat Tarhan’s Door to Reason,” broadcast on Dost TV and Dost FM. Highlighting the effects of the ethical crisis on society, Tarhan emphasized that there is a moral crisis in social, individual, economic, and political spheres. Tarhan also noted that the crisis exists globally, stating; “We talk about ethics in form, but not in essence. We don’t practice it. The weak pay the price for this moral crisis.”
“The weak pay the price for the moral crisis”
Explaining the effects of the moral crisis on society, Psychiatrist Prof. Dr. Nevzat Tarhan said; “Currently, there is a tremendous moral crisis in social, individual, economic, and political spheres. This crisis is not only in Turkey but globally. A role for morality, a fiction of morality, is being created. There is an understanding like, ‘Morality is good, but we don’t have to be moral.’ This view also exists in our society. There are various reasons for this. We talk about ethics in form, but not in essence. We don’t practice it. It exists in form, but not in practice. In other words, there is a serious moral crisis. The weak pay the price for this moral crisis. The moral crisis primarily benefits the powerful. Poverty, corruption, cruelty. If these three things dominate a society, we should expect its collapse.”
“When evil increases, the good have been in the minority”
Stating that evil easily comes to light thanks to social media, Tarhan said; “Dante says, ‘The deepest circles in hell are reserved for those who remain neutral in times of great moral crisis.’ Evil has a tendency to spread quickly. It has always been so in history. When evil multiplied, the good remained in the minority. If the good insist on goodness, evil diminishes, and goodness begins to multiply. So, we are currently in a time when evil has hit rock bottom. The events in Gaza are a living example of this. It exists globally. Global politics is Machiavellian. This is currently being implemented globally. But thankfully, there is social media, and thankfully, we are in the age of communication. Evils are easily learned. Therefore, in such a time, the path is open for good and truth. Because where communication is intense, the game of global evil, of Machiavellians, will be disrupted.”
“Morality is not genetic, it is learned later”
Stating that the global moral crisis is clearly being experienced, Prof. Dr. Tarhan stated that morality is learned later. Tarhan said; “Adam Smith has a saying about morality. He calls morality an ‘invisible hand.’ He says, ‘The market has no morality.’ This is the birth of liberalism and economic capitalist morality. ‘The market has no morality. People will be in competition, they will compete with each other. There is an invisible hand in the market that provides justice.’ But now it is understood that there is no invisible hand in the market. Morality is not genetic; it is learned later. There are very good moral theories, but they are not applied when it comes to practice. Because a global moral crisis is being experienced. For example, Europeans are more moral than us. We need to find the reason for this well. Europeans act morally in trade. They act morally in the market. Because they have realized freedom, they have become a liberal society. Where there is freedom and open transparency, dynamic balance is achieved.”
Lying becomes a method…
Speaking about children being pushed to lie due to the prevalence of a culture of fear in the family, Tarhan said; “The reason morality continues better in the West is the absence of a culture of fear, the absence of a culture of oppression, and tyranny not becoming morality. In our societies, there is a morality of tyranny. If there is tyranny in a home, if parents manage their children by frightening and threatening them, in such situations, children cannot oppose their parents and start telling defensive lies. After a while, they turn lying into a method. There is freedom outside, but oppression at home. In this situation, the child learns to act hypocritically towards their parents. They use lies. This time, they learn to survive through lying.”
“There must be a balance of freedom and responsibility”
Speaking about what needs to be done for children to be raised morally, Tarhan said; “There should be no pressure at home. At home, it can lead children to hypocrisy and lies. Because you do this with love, the child does not defy you, but when they start to become free, they begin to move in the exact opposite direction. Freedom is such that if you squeeze a bar of soap too hard, it slips away, and if you leave it too loose, it also slips away. There must be a balance of freedom and responsibility. That is, if freedom and responsibility are carried together, do not fear that freedom. If you have taught your child the balance of freedom and responsibility, that child will have gained the ability to say ‘no’ to others when they do evil. When a tempting, deterrent feeling comes from within, they will have achieved the success of saying ‘no’ to themselves, achieving impulse control. If you teach the balance of freedom and responsibility, that freedom will not harm. That freedom leads to discovery and innovation. This freedom is a beneficial freedom.”
“We need to recognize moral norms”
Stating that children should be taught conscience-based norms, Tarhan said; “We need to recognize moral norms. There are three types of norms in society. Legal norms, social norms, and conscientious norms. Legal norms are determined by laws. Social norms are protected by traditions, but currently, the traditions protecting these norms have disintegrated. Shame is gone. Courts deal with prohibitions. Social norms deal with shame. In the end, conscientious norms remain. The rules that determine conscientious norms are moral rules, moral norms. This is an internal thing. It needs to be taught. If you teach a child from a young age about conscientious norms, an inner guardian, a sense of inner responsibility, a mental jury, that child can protect themselves in an environment of freedom.”
“The biggest organ of narcissists is their ego”
Referring to the causes of moral degradation in society, Tarhan said; “Currently, self-display on social media has become fashionable. Ego surfing has become fashionable. The American Psychiatric Association has a statement saying, ‘Making self-praising posts more than three times a day is a symptom of narcissism.’ Narcissism is the way egocentrism has become morality. The biggest organ of narcissists is their egos. This also corrupts morality. There is currently an epidemic of narcissism. One of the biggest reasons for moral degradation in society is the neglect of character development in education systems. The greatest thing that corrupts morality is arrogance. Where there is a feeling of arrogance, a person uses power for their own benefit.”
Self-confidence is one thing, self-admiration is another…
Speaking about people with low self-confidence constantly displaying themselves, Tarhan said; “One of the reasons for family breakdown is ego wars. Behind this also lies narcissism. People who praise and display themselves on social media are actually people with low self-confidence. They engage in self-admiration. Self-confidence is one thing, self-admiration is another. A self-confident person can self-criticize. They see both their weaknesses and their positive aspects, yet they progress on their life path. Self-confidence is being able to face mistakes. People with low self-confidence cannot face their mistakes; they deny them. They always try to show their positive sides, even exaggerating them. Exaggeration is also a dimension of narcissism. Social media provides a very suitable environment for this. In families where there is open communication at home, where everything can be discussed, where sharing exists, and media literacy is developed, social media does no harm. If a child is happy and peaceful in the family, and if mistakes are discussed well and correctly at home, they will not be afraid at all. In such situations, the child is not affected by the negative impact of social media. Because they have a measure in their mind. There is a saying, ‘He whose ruler is crooked, his line will not be straight.’ You need to create correct templates in the child’s mind. If collective moral templates are created, that child can say no to evil, but if we do not create the correct moral template, the child’s morality will be one that changes according to the environment. It changes according to the table. They behave differently next to the powerful, and differently next to the weak.”