Üsküdar University Founding Rector, Psychiatrist Prof. Dr. Nevzat Tarhan, was the guest of a talk titled “Social Psychology and Effective Inter-unit Communication,” organized by the Kadıköy District National Education Directorate and Kadıköy Guidance and Research Center. Tarhan emphasized that focusing on the opportunity aspect rather than the threat aspect of life events would be beneficial, noting that true happiness lies in pursuing meaning instead of pleasure. Stating that intelligent people are those who think long-term, Tarhan also warned against falling for the changing philosophy of life.
Educators, school principals, guidance counselors, and psychological counselors from the Kadıköy district attended the talk held at Kadıköy Ahmet Sani Gezici Girls' Anatolian Imam Hatip High School.
Journalist Şaban Özdemir moderated the talk.
“Life events cause short-term difficulties but turn into gains in the medium to long term”
Psychiatrist Prof. Dr. Nevzat Tarhan emphasized the importance of focusing on the opportunity aspect rather than the threat aspect of life events; “Both at the individual and societal level, there are life events, shock experiences. All events, from major epidemics to earthquakes and wars, are social traumas. These have both a threat aspect and an opportunity aspect. Our way of handling these life events and shock experiences is important here. Stress is a person's demand for growth. Life events turn into an opportunity for a person to change their habits. If they are turned into opportunities, society develops better. Life events cause short-term difficulties but turn into gains in the medium to long term. We have post-traumatic growth scales that we use in therapy. For example, we encountered them more often in earthquakes. There are many examples of people saying, ‘I spent more time with my children.’ ‘I pay more attention to my spouse.’ These traumas help a person move away from selfishness. They encourage more social thinking,” he stated.
“Egocentrism ultimately brings unhappiness”
Tarhan stated that egocentrism ultimately brings unhappiness; “Calamities, accidents, disasters are unexpected, but how you handle them after they occur is important. These shock experiences lead to people overcoming their loneliness. Otherwise, people become egocentric. Egocentric people also become lonely. The third stage of loneliness is unhappiness. Egocentrism, loneliness, and unhappiness. These come one after another. Modernism has changed our philosophy of life. It offers us a pleasure-oriented philosophy of life. In the philosophy of pleasure, it says, ‘What I like is good. What I don't like is bad. What serves my interest is good, what does not serve my interest is bad.’ This is the teaching of capitalist ethics. We must not fall for the changing philosophy of life.” he said.
Pursuing meaning brings happiness!
Tarhan reminded that instead of pursuing pleasure, one should pursue meaning; “In the capitalist system, people became materially rich but could not achieve the same psychological richness. Crime is increasing, violence is increasing, suicides are increasing... In this situation, the USA adopted Eastern wisdom and developed a scientific theory under the name of positive psychology, and is currently teaching it as a science. Neuroscience also supports this. The brain of a person who works only for their own interest, focused on pleasure, only releases dopamine. Money, property, fame, glory only release dopamine. The true happiness in the brain is serotonin happiness. Serotonin happiness occurs when one achieves their purpose of meaning in life. If this is a person's ego ideal, they achieve happiness in the long run. Even when a person encounters an obstacle, by thinking long-term and meaningfully, the brain continues to release serotonin. Being happy by pursuing meaning is important. Being able to achieve this happiness is important.” he said.
“It is necessary to determine the strategic goal correctly”
Explaining the importance of goal and strategy-oriented thinking, Tarhan said; “In motivation technique, the 15% rule is applied for a person to succeed in overcoming themselves. If a person works 100 hours on a task, they should dedicate 15 hours to thinking about that task. Breaks are given. After that, one stops, thinks, and re-evaluates. People who can do this think more highly of their work. Their visions are higher. Vision and mission are different things. Vision shows what a person can do. Mission shows what they have done. For these, there must first be a purpose. If your strategic goal is wrong, the small victories you achieve have no meaning. Therefore, it is necessary to determine the strategic goal correctly. It is necessary to think goal and strategy-oriented.” he stated.
“If we can achieve this, it means we are applying the formula appropriate to the science of happiness”
Explaining the PERMA Model, Tarhan said; “First is ‘Positive emotion.’ Pay attention, it's not positive thinking but positive emotion. If a person wants to achieve sustainable happiness, they must first have a positive state of mind. They will see both negative and positive but will attribute positive meanings. This is the first stage. Second is ‘engagement,’ a person experiencing a sense of flow. You immerse yourself in a task, and you look up to find hours have passed, asking ‘How did time fly?’ If you experience this sense of flow, it means you have reached the second stage of meaning-happiness. Third is ‘relationship.’ If a person's social network is good and that person is supportive, they become part of the ecosystem. Fourth is ‘meaning.’ Authentic happiness is pure, genuine happiness. You can be happy in any environment. It is not happiness dependent on external causes but on internal causes. Not happiness indexed to others. It is being able to be happy in any environment. For that happiness, you will pursue meaning. The fifth is ‘accomplishment,’ meaning small successes, small satisfactions... For example, you made your student happy, and you felt happiness. You greeted someone, and they greeted you back. Small satisfactions... It is being happy with ordinary things, small things. If we can achieve this, it means we are applying the formula appropriate to the science of happiness.” he stated.
“Intelligent people are those who think long-term”
Tarhan stated that solutions to problems can be found when one becomes part of a meaning; “When you think in the medium to long term, you add meaning to the work you do. The hardship you endure turns into a gain for you. That means growth after stress. It means gain after stress. It means self-development. Therefore, it is not difficult to add meaning to our lives. For some, it is to produce meaning; for others, it is to discover meaning. Intelligent people are those who think long-term. They are people who think about death and what comes after death. Yalom has four fundamental anxieties. He states that a person cannot overcome existential crisis unless they solve these four problems. First is the search for meaning. Second is the search for freedom. Third is overcoming loneliness. Fourth is the fear of death. If a person becomes part of a meaning, they find solutions to all these problems and can add meaning to their work. They can lead a meaningful life.” he said.
“The bad part is like a cancer cell”
Tarhan stated that there is both a good and a bad part within humans; “Humans are born with the potential to be both benevolent and malevolent. We have good and bad parts within us. Whichever part we nourish, that part grows. The bad part is like a cancer cell. It is boundless, irresponsible, and insatiable. That cancer cell grows, rots the liver, kills it. Then it also dies. The social equivalent of narcissistic cells in social life are narcissistic personalities. They see themselves at the center of the world. They see themselves as an earthly god. Freud even calls this ‘omnipotence.’ In the Ottoman era, this was referred to as ‘Kadir-i mutlak,’ meaning all-powerful. Narcissistic individuals want everyone to obey them. They enslave their spouse and child. They make them dependent on themselves. They desire a master-slave relationship. They are narcissistic personalities lacking empathy.” he stated.
“Humans can only be happy in a social environment”
Tarhan stated that humans are social beings; “Self-knowledge is the first step in the journey of life. If a person is going somewhere, they must first know their own position. Then they will know the position of their destination. Then they will look at the navigation and set off. If you don't give your location, navigation will be of no use to you. In the same way, we embarked on the journey of life. First, you will know yourself. You will know ‘What is my position?’ ‘What is my location?’ After that, you will determine your goal and draw your roadmap. That's how a meaningful life is. A person with a meaningful life is not unhappy. A person with a meaningful life manages social relationships better. That is why in teamwork, social capital accounts for two-thirds of success. One-third of success is producing good products in the factory. Two-thirds is making one's work visible through internal relationships or various marketing techniques. This plays a two-thirds role in success. Because humans are not programmed to live alone in this world. Humans are relational beings. The brain works relationally. Just as there are motor mirror neurons, there are also emotional neurons. Humans can only be happy in a social environment.” he stated.
“We need to modernize while preserving our own culture”
Tarhan pointed out the need to present Rumi (Mevlana) in contemporary attire and explain him in that manner; “We need to modernize while preserving our own culture. When you modernize by rejecting your own identity, we export the brains we cultivate. This is currently happening in Turkey... The format of our education system is wrong. The format of the education system needs to be corrected. We need to progress by synthesizing with technology while preserving our own culture. We should not misinterpret our culture. For example, when we say Anatolian wisdom, Hazrat Mevlana comes to mind. Let's bring Mevlana to the present time. Let's keep him alive with today's attire. It doesn't necessarily mean living in the style of that era. When this happens, young people say this culture cannot be lived. When they say it cannot be lived, they start searching. This education system has failed to synthesize. We have failed to synthesize the past and the future. We have failed to synthesize religion and science. For example, it says religion is separate, science is separate. However, religion and science are not rivals but complementary to each other. The philosophy of science in education should be structured this way.” he said.
“Technology itself is inherently neutral; if used for good purposes, it serves humanity”
Tarhan stated that artificial intelligence will bring about a transformation; “Currently, digital platforms have created a global shock. The world was moving towards digital dictatorship. During the Covid period, everyone had to go digital. Everyone tried to write their own digital platform. Digitalization spread globally. Digitalization is not a threat but an opportunity. Just like a phone, just like a car. Technology itself is inherently neutral; if used for good purposes, it serves humanity. Therefore, instead of opposing digitalization and artificial intelligence, we should use it for good purposes. The invention of the printing press and electricity brought about a transformation in human history. Artificial intelligence will bring about the same transformation. There should be no hesitation about this. So, let's not be objects of artificial intelligence, but subjects. Let's create, let's manage, let's determine.” he stated.