Founding Rector of Üsküdar Üniversitesi, Psychiatrist Prof. Dr. Nevzat Tarhan was a live broadcast guest on the program “İşin Aslı” presented by Aslı Şafak and aired on Bloomberg HT. Tarhan stated that the last refuge for those who want to escape the capitalist mentality is the approach forming the foundation of Masnavi, and emphasized that the malevolent part within a person must be disciplined. Tarhan said; “We all have benevolent and malevolent parts within us. A person simplifies their life and matures early by disciplining that bad part. The renowned philosopher Slavoj Žižek states that the new refuge for those who want to escape capitalism is the approach forming the foundation of Masnavi.”
“Adolescence is a normal schizophrenic period according to some approaches”
Tarhan, evaluating the youth period, one of the life stages of humankind, from psychological and religious perspectives, stated that unusual behaviors during adolescence should be considered normal and underlined that some psychologists define this period as ‘normal schizophrenia’. Tarhan said; “The youth period is one of the stormy periods in human life. During this period of hormonal storms, a person's body develops, but their soul does not develop in parallel. In common parlance, people in adolescence are called 'delikanlı' (young hothead). Some schools of psychology refer to adolescence as a ‘normal schizophrenic period’. The reason for this may be the unusual behavior of the person going through this period. I was quite surprised to see that this approach is compatible with a saying of Prophet Muhammad (PBUH). The hadith states that the age of puberty is a branch of madness. Some people experience prolonged adolescence; for men, adolescence now extends to 40 years of age. Men do not grow up because mothers raise their sons as if everyone should serve them. 40 years is actually a period where a person experiences many experiences and crises in life, learning through trial and error after going through storms. It is also an average age from a psychosocial perspective. Of course, these periods vary from person to person. While some mature earlier, others may not mature even if they reach 40.”
“Humankind learns by taking lessons from experiences and through trial and error”
Tarhan stated that innate learning is not applicable to humankind, and touched upon the importance of family and learning from experiences in various forms of learning. Tarhan said; “There is an innate difference between a human child and an animal child. An animal child is born having already learned life. But a human child adapts to life through adolescence. In adolescence, they are born premature, destined to learn. If they learn easily, they navigate the psycho-social process well. If the environment is not healthy, there is no safe environment at home, and family relationships are not healthy, they learn through trial and error due to a lack of guidance. How does an average person learn? They make a mistake and learn that way. But a human life may not always be enough for this. What does a smart person do? They learn by observing the experiences of others. This is a smart approach. In the third learning style, the person keeps repeating the same mistake. They act stubbornly, saying 'it should be my way'. In Anatolia, such people are called 'hödük' (lout).” With these statements, he drew attention to the importance of experience among learning styles.
“Masnavi, the new refuge for those who want to escape capitalism”
Tarhan stated that the approach forming the foundation of Masnavi is the ultimate refuge for those who want to escape the capitalist mentality, and emphasized that the malevolent part within a person must be disciplined. Tarhan said; “We all have benevolent and malevolent parts within us. There is a wild horse within every person. If a person tames it, they say, ‘I am the boss’. This is called 'nefis terbiyesi' (disciplining the ego/self). A person simplifies their life and matures early by disciplining that bad part. This way, they make healthy decisions appropriate for their age. If they cannot tame the wild horse, they lose control over their desires. We define true leadership as neuro-leadership. One who cannot be their own leader cannot be a leader of others. The freedom approaches imposed by popular culture, such as 'break the chains, tear down the walls, live the life you want,' are not true freedom. The first freedom is the freedom a person gains for themselves. They gain great freedom against desires, impulses, ambition, insatiability, and opportunism. These are third-wave psychotherapy methods. The Anatolian wisdom we have upheld for centuries teaches this. The renowned Croatian philosopher Slavoj Žižek states that the new refuge for those who want to escape capitalism is the approach forming the foundation of Masnavi. Capitalism has transformed hedonism, that is, the idea of chasing pleasure and doing whatever one desires, into a global understanding. Hedonistic satisfaction, in the slightest problem, for example, when one spouse is ill, suggests to the other, ‘you only live once, let go, live your life’. If a person chooses hedonistic satisfaction as their ego ideal, social support weakens.”