Prof. Dr. Nevzat Tarhan: “If we are just players, if we are objects, we will be used”

“One must not be caught unawares against war”

Speaking at the interview held at Bağlarbaşı Congress and Culture Center, moderated by TGSP Corporate Communications Specialist Elif Sena Demiroğlu, Üsküdar Üniversitesi Founding Rector Prof. Dr. Nevzat Tarhan pointed out that the Russia-Ukraine war is a local war. Tarhan said: “The most victims of war are the elderly, the weak, the sick, and children. Not every war has a winner. Nowadays, wars have transformed from armed conflicts into ideological wars. Humankind is ambitious and greedy; if there is power, it wants to dominate. Fearing nuclear weapons, because a nuclear weapon is powerful enough to destroy humanity. Everyone must do their best to prevent a third world war. Local wars are happening. The Russia-Ukraine war is also a local war. Despite having nuclear power, Russia cannot use it. It cannot use it because the other side cannot use it either. The mighty Russian army said it would enter Kyiv in three days. It couldn't; now, while saying the army called the Red Army has revived, there is complete failure. They may have new plans, etc., but even failing to do it in such a short time is a great failure. It has shown that people cannot be brought into line by using weapons. Hz. Mevlana was asked, ‘What is jihad?’ and he replied, ‘It is taking the weapon from the hand of a madman.’ He said, ‘Resorting to arms when there is a solution through persuasion, conviction, and diplomacy is madness. That is the real jihad.’ The solution comes through diplomacy and persuasion. The method of this era is persuasion, conviction, and one must act accordingly. We will be strong; we will have defensive weapons. One must not be caught unawares against war. The devil's advocates are present; shields must be ready.”

“We will take precautions with military intelligence and think with civilian intelligence”

Prof. Dr. Nevzat Tarhan commented on the 21st century now being the digital age, stating that if we do not accept this as a society, we will be cast into the dustbin of history; “If we constantly talk about war, we fall into the victim role in crisis management. We will take precautions and continue with normal life. Civil society organizations also need to be ready. Military intelligence is important in war preparation, but civilian intelligence is also important in normal life. We will take precautions with military intelligence and think with civilian intelligence. If we can do this, we will protect our own geography in such a situation. The new world order, the 21st Century, has now become the digital age. We have to accept it; otherwise, we will be cast into the dustbin of history. We must not be objects but subjects. We need to be actors in the digital world. We must write its script. We must also be the producers. If we are just players, if we are objects, we will be used. Interesting meetings took place in Davos in 2018. A decision is being made that artificial intelligence is the new god in the new era. Israeli historian and philosopher Harari said, ‘The world is heading towards digital dictatorship.’ We are in digital comfort; if we do not create our own digital platform, if we become its slaves, it won't work. We need to produce our own platforms. Ten years ago, computer tablets were distributed, and now most are in the trash. This is due to a wrong project because if we had trained two thousand software developers instead, we could have used them instead of Zoom. This is entirely a matter of vision; it results from short-term policies. There is operational policymaking, and there is strategic policymaking. I have a book called ‘Being a Conscious Youth.’ We explain why strategic thinking is important. I’ve reached the end of my life; what kind of person do I want to be? This needs to be clear because you recognize your strengths and weaknesses. You act according to your roadmap when making decisions. One without a strategic goal is constantly managed. When a ship leaves port, if it knows where it is going, the wind helps it. If it doesn't know where it is going, the wind just drags it around. It's the same in life.”

“Popular culture’s sweet but poisonous gifts: secularism and egocentrism”

Tarhan spoke about worldliness becoming more prominent than ever before in human history; “Currently, modernism has two great sweet but poisonous gifts for humanity: The first is secularism. This is not in a political sense; let no one misunderstand. It is secularism in a philosophical sense. In the Turkish Language Association, it is referred to as 'dünyacılık' (worldliness). That is, a sweet but poisonous gift of popular culture will attract the world greatly, meaning worldliness has come to the forefront more than ever in human history. The current philosophy of life suggests living as if there is nothing after death. This is similar to recommending an ostrich-like life to us. When a hunter approaches, an ostrich buries its head in the sand, thinking the hunter won't see it, while its large body remains exposed. Humankind is similar in the face of death. In the face of death, one thinks they can escape it by not thinking or talking about it, but diseases, calamities, pandemics, wars – all these give us the message: 'Look, there is death, life is temporary.' A loved one gets sick, cancer has increased to epidemic levels, many diseases have increased. People will think, research, question. What is life? What is existence? For such a person, entertainment momentarily brings comfort, in a state of heedlessness. This secularism, worldliness, is a poisonous honey of popular culture, of global culture. The second is egocentrism. The second lovable poison. A sweet poison. Egocentrism is taught under the name of individualism. In individualism, it is good for a person to have self-confidence, not to let themselves be oppressed, but one must not forget that they are part of a social fabric.”

“In the digital age, digital platforms transmit culture”

Tarhan, commenting on egocentrism being a global disease, stated that the Western world has exacerbated this disease. Tarhan said: “Cultures were transmitted through families, but now in the 21st Century, in the digital age, digital platforms are transmitting culture. Social media is doing it now. We will transmit our culture to our children through these means. Egocentrism is also a global disease. The Western world elevated this disease, egocentrism. Why? Because of capitalist ethics. It says, 'the cycle of earn, consume.' That is, it has focused economy and economics on humans according to its model. The capitalist system calls humans homo economicus. Until the 2000s, it said humans were homo economicus, an economic being. It says they are beings living by the cycle of earn-consume. It says society here consists of individuals pursuing their own interests. It says pursuing one's own interest is sacred to humans. This is the doctrine of capitalist philosophy, the doctrine of existentialist philosophy. It even tells people to completely unleash their carnal desires. It says completely unleashing them is freedom. This started as a global trend. The sweet and pleasant priority, 'I am important, others are not important, my family is not important, I am important, I want to live my own life, I want to like myself,' is very attractive. However, humans are relational beings. They are not mentally coded to live alone. There is a momentary false comfort that egocentrism provides, but after a while, one becomes lonely. They cannot meet their social needs and become unhappy.”

“Globally we have become richer, but we are not happy”

Prof. Dr. Nevzat Tarhan drew attention to the serious disruption of the natural balance. Tarhan said: “Humans are beings that meddle with the balance in the world. The reason for meddling with the world is their high ego. Saying ‘I know,’ ‘I can do it,’ greed, insatiability, ambition, and dissatisfaction. This is why it has always harmed nature. There are dangers with global climate change. I mean, this is not a conspiracy theory. We have very seriously disrupted the natural balance. The emergence of the virus is also nature’s reaction to the disturbed balance. Just as intervening with blood pressure in the body causes blood pressure to rise higher, nature also develops its own reactions because such a law exists. In conclusion, if humankind in this world does not disrupt the balance, if it knows its limits and boundaries... ‘Whoever knows himself knows his Lord.’ This is a hadith qudsi, if I am not mistaken. With this truth, humans can know their place in the universe. Who is the person who will know what is most beneficial, most correct, and best for humans? Who is such a person? When you think about it, for example, a washing machine broke down. No one can fix the fault. Who will fix that fault? The one who designed and produced that machine will fix it. You go to them. Globally, we have become richer, but we are not happy. In parallel, when you ask who is the person, the entity, in a position to produce the best solution for this, it is the Creator, Allah. Then we need to act according to the messages He gives. If we act in accordance with this, if we act according to the messages in the universe, the message the Creator has given us, then we will have done what is right and known our limits.”

“Ideal respect is disinterested respect”

Tarhan, evaluating the importance of compassion first and then respect, said: “Nature is a living thing. We need to be kind, compassionate, and respectful towards nature. That is, we need to feel both love and respect. There is something greater than love, its name is compassion. Because love can also be selfish. You love, but you love for the other person's benefit. This love is a selfish love. It is not a true love; it is a conditional love. Unconditional love, that is, what is called compassion and mercy in our culture. Unconditional love, selfless love, is greater than this love. First, compassion, and second, respect are important. In respect, people sometimes show respect out of fear or self-interest. But ideal respect is disinterested respect. It is respect that contains empathy. Its equivalent in our culture is politeness. Politeness comes from nobility. It does not force one to be polite. It acts politely by nature.”

“We need to change the new sacred values”

Tarhan, noting the existence of voluntary, consent-based imperialism today, said: “They came doing good, with missionary work, and took the goods. The West is unfortunately such a West; this is Western philosophy. Currently, they are trying to do this with the digital world. If we don’t wake up, we will be exploited. Currently, there is voluntary, consent-based imperialism. Imperialism continues today. That is, if you unnecessarily buy foreign brands, you become a supporter of imperialism, but if you say no, you are resisting imperialism, you are being yourself. Protecting one's own identity lies there. Achieving modernization while protecting one's own identity is important for that. So, in conclusion, we have the capacity to produce alternative ideas to stand against this global system, against nature, against imperialism. We need to activate this capacity. Therefore, we need to change the values we live by and these new sacred values. We need to reject the new artificial intelligence, meaning we should actually use it for our own goals and purposes. A serious arrogance emerged in Davos. They declared an artificial god there. They said, 'Our god is artificial intelligence.' They created a virtual universe. They are trying to serve the entire world from there. Then the pandemic intervened, what was the benefit of globalization for the pandemic? Globalization disrupted their game in this way: digital platforms were going to be their monopolies. They would create them there, and our societies were resisting digitalization. These societies were resisting, and as digitalization increased, they were saying, ‘I cannot enter social media. I cannot cope; my spirituality will be corrupted.’ But now, with mandatory digitalization, it has started to normalize. In fact, it is globalization that is pushing digitalization. Fast adaptation has occurred in Eastern societies and African societies that they wanted to exploit. I believe the pandemic triggered the discovery of truth among thinking minds in the Western world, in the intelligence fields of the Western world. Within the next 10 years, perhaps very important figures in the West will declare our doctrine of tawhid, the concept of oneness. They will discover this. Otherwise, there is no solution for the world. People will find this and, in a sense, grasp the truth of wisdom.”

“Children need to be taught to be good people first”

Prof. Dr. Nevzat Tarhan stated that if a child is intelligent, hardworking, and a good person, they will be both successful and happy. Tarhan said: “Those with weak social support are more unhappy. They feel lonely. We see children turning to substance addiction. They become rich, and most are unhappy. They use drugs as a stress-relief technique. As a result, they cut themselves, get involved in various crimes, and engage in risky behaviors. When family ties are weak, the person needs to re-regulate family values that can provide a happy family environment. Current parents, when raising their children, say, ‘Let them be intelligent and hardworking.’ They raise them to be success-oriented. Children also value being hardworking. For example, we have a student who becomes a good computer scientist. He is doing his doctorate in Ümraniye prison. He has the intelligence of a computer engineer but was involved in a espionage case and received twenty years in prison. Children need to be taught to be good people first, not intelligent or hardworking. Let them be intelligent, hardworking, and a good person. Then they will be both successful and happy. I also said this in the parliament's violence commission. The deputy said, 'Professor, you are giving a capitalist example.' I said, “Is it more profitable to be virtuous? Is it more profitable to be hardworking? It's about teaching this to students.” The current capitalist system says being hardworking is profitable. However, in our values, being virtuous is profitable. The right thing is to be virtuous. Because being honest, hardworking, well-intentioned, not lying, paying attention to others' rights requires having moral values. This needs to be taught. In the USA, not 'ilim' (knowledge/wisdom) but 'bilim' (science) emerged.”

“We are currently in a network society”

Tarhan spoke about the new reality in the network society; “What is social schizophrenia? What is empathy? If an individual is hostile to a segment of society, if one part of their brain is hostile to another part, what kind of war erupts in the brain? If a person performs schizophrenic actions, then when you make one segment of society hostile to another in the brain, it becomes social schizophrenia. This is called social schizophrenia. What is culture? It is by strengthening these social ties, networks, but our centuries-old characteristic of a connected society has now transformed into a network society. It is formed by networks, digital networks. It is now a network society because communication is very fast. What was a connected society? When something happened, we would ask so-and-so; there was a dervish lodge in the neighborhood, a blessed person. People would ask him, ask the hoca. They would ask an elder in some way, take them as a reference point, saying ‘this is how it is.’ But it's not like that now. Now there is no progress in life by connecting to one person. We are currently in a network society. The new generation is like this. This is the new reality in the network society. Therefore, we will transmit culture through networks.”

“People’s biggest organ has started to become the ego”

Prof. Dr. Nevzat Tarhan conveyed that individuals with mental flexibility preserve the life scenarios they had in childhood, with these words. Tarhan said: “The more beautiful life events are in a family, the more beautiful our mental health becomes. Let me give an example about marriage. When a person marries, they have life scenarios learned beforehand. What are life scenarios? There is a person in the role of a mother, a person in the role of a father. The actors in the roles of sibling, older sister are clear. After marriage, new actors enter one's life. The spouse enters, father-in-law, mother-in-law, new actors enter; therefore, one must rewrite the life scenarios learned in childhood. This is called ‘mental flexibility.’ People with mental flexibility preserve the life scenarios from their childhood. They rewrite it according to the new actors. And thus, harmony emerges in marriage. But stubborn people are narcissists. The greatest enemies of marriage are stubborn people. It is rigidity of thought. If you ask me what the greatest enemy of marriage is, I would say stubbornness. In stubbornness, stubborn people say 'Noah' (meaning, firmly stick to their opinion) and not 'prophet' (meaning, refuse to change it even slightly). Behind stubbornness lies a high ego. There are ego wars like 'my say, your say,' 'my mother, your mother,' 'my money, your money.' In fact, this is the greatest enemy not only of marriage but also of relationship management. It is the greatest enemy of socialization. There is a lack of empathy within this, which is why stubborn people cannot empathize. But modernism has greatly elevated stubbornness. It inflated egos by saying, 'You are important.' People's biggest organ has started to become the ego. This is very dangerous. What happens as a result? If this becomes a culture, then we will have no peace. This is not just in Turkey but now throughout the whole world. People will be talking much more about not wars, but suicides, mental illnesses, divorces, and unhappiness.”

“Feminism that encourages male-female competition has harmed the family”

Prof. Dr. Nevzat Tarhan stated that being a good person is not innate, but being a candidate to be a good person is innate; “Motherhood and fatherhood are not genetic. Mating is genetic, but motherhood and fatherhood are related to cultural learning. A part of what is culturally learned is currently corrupted. We are not teaching this. How to be a good mother, how to be a good father, what is marital maturity in our schools? We are not teaching it! I have been striving for years. There is a 15-20 question family marital maturity scale before marriage. I say that if you make most marrying couples read this scale, a certain awareness will undoubtedly be created. I have done my duty. If there is such a feminist understanding, there will be no family or anything. When we say feminism, feminism in the sense of a women's liberation movement is beneficial, but feminism that encourages male-female competition has harmed the family. All of these indicate that our parenting practices are weak. They are influenced by cultural disintegrations. But still, we are better in this regard globally, yet the situation of not being able to raise healthy children will further increase in 10-20 years. Therefore, child development departments are important in the education system. We assume that the concept of family is innate. Family is not innate. Mating is innate, but family comes culturally. Only thirty percent of a family is biological/genetic. Sixty to seventy percent is learned. Even being human, let alone family, is like that. We learn to be a good person as a candidate, but we learn to be human entirely from the society we live in. Being a good person is not innate, but being a candidate to be a good person is innate. That's why anyone who says 'our family is innate, nothing will happen to our family' is deceiving themselves. Those who deceive themselves pay the price. They have mental blindness. Currently, there is mental blindness among decision-makers regarding family policies. Because of mental blindness, they say, 'Our family is strong, nothing will happen.' Fortunately, it's not like that; unfortunately, the facts are not like that. Our family is currently experiencing something very serious. I cannot predict 10-20 years from now; there is a very big risk.”

“Motherhood is a demanding service”

Tarhan spoke about some of the mistakes in our cultural codes that need to be changed; “Unfortunately, there is a cruel male model. In our current traditions, in patriarchal cultural teaching, they say about men: ‘He makes mistakes, it’s just dirt on his hands.’ If he commits infidelity, women are severely punished. If there is a concept of honor, it is the same for women and for men. There cannot be a double standard. Such things are some of the mistakes in our cultural codes that need to be changed. Therefore, it is necessary to support women’s economic independence. For this, the state needs to define housekeeping, or rather motherhood, as a profession and provide social security for it. Motherhood is a demanding service. Can there be greater production than raising a child? Being a good secretary, or a manager in a good factory, is very beneficial, but is raising a good child less important? Therefore, we need to make motherhood a good model. There is a system with automatic insurance, which countries with decreasing populations have now started to implement. Defining motherhood as a mandatory profession and not letting mothers live in anxiety about the future. For example, in Anatolia, in the last ten years, girls have come to the forefront more in education. Why did they come to the forefront? Rest assured, mothers think: ‘Bad divorces have increased. Men are oppressing women. Murders have increased recently. If we face a difficult situation, let my daughter have a profession.’ That’s why they educate them. And it's a good thing they are educated that way. That is also a profession for them, but does it not have risks? Of course, it does. Living and progressing in life is a risk. Therefore, if it is to progress with a certain purpose, systems that support women's economic freedom will survive and be sustained in the future. If we do not support this, then men will have to accept their economic independence. They cannot oppress them. The relationship between women and men is not a master-slave relationship. It is a relationship of equals. Male rationality needs to accept this.”

“Democracy begins in the family”

Prof. Dr. Nevzat Tarhan spoke about the 4 mottos of Üsküdar Üniversitesi; “The greatest discovery humanity has made here is democracy. Democracy begins in the family. When Üsküdar Üniversitesi was founded in 2011, we wrote four principles in its motto. You remember there are 4 points: Criticizability, libertarianism, pluralism, participation. Criticizability means there is accountability. There is openness to criticism. We did this in 2011. Someone who is open to criticism sees criticism as a gift. They develop themselves. It should be the same in a family. The second is libertarianism. Instead of authoritarian behavior, giving commands, one needs to offer options. For example, a child is wanted to study. They sit down for breakfast. A lecture on studying begins. A life lecture begins. The child gets tired of listening to this. Now, when the child sees their mother, studying comes to mind. Not a mother, but a principal. What happens to the child in such a situation? It becomes a wrong modeling. Therefore, parenting styles are very important. All these show us the role of the mother, father, and spouse within the family. We always need to redefine the roles. We need to rebuild our cultural codes according to the truths of the time. In a way, we need a cultural Renaissance. To be an example to the world, we need to achieve this. What did we say was the second aspect of democracy? Being libertarian. What is its opposite? Being authoritarian, oppressive. Being a despot, being domineering. The third is pluralism. For example, in a family where everyone supports Fenerbahçe, if one child says 'I want to support Galatasaray,' even if it saddens him, a father must respect that. Then you are not being authoritarian. It's like saying everyone in this house must like beans. This is authoritarianism, raising a single type of person. So, what exists in smart governance? It is working together with people of different temperaments for the same goal. It is about working. It's the same in the family, which is why it is said that democracy begins in the family. The fourth is participation.”