Founding Rector of Üsküdar Üniversitesi, Prof. Dr. Nevzat Tarhan, was a guest at the monthly event organized by the Ankara Culture and Education Foundation (AKEV). In the program where the topic of “Psychology of the Self and Sin” was discussed, Tarhan stated that modernism currently reduces humans to self-focused individuals, and emphasized that the self (nefis) has no power of enforcement. Tarhan stated that the self is one of the emotions that motivate humans, and drew attention to the fact that the self has no power of enforcement, but only the characteristic of guidance, temptation, i.e., advice and suggestion.
In the online program, Founding Rector of Üsküdar Üniversitesi, Prof. Dr. Nevzat Tarhan, made remarkable shares about the self and sin at the meeting titled “Psychology of the Self and Sin.”
If there is discipline of will, there is discipline of the self…
Prof. Dr. Nevzat Tarhan pointed out that the brain's decision-making mechanism is referred to as 'discipline of will' in both the Quran and Islamic ethics; “A person needs a fortress to take refuge in after doing their best. That refuge is the Sunnah of the Prophet, he says. Sunnah means having the teachings of our guide, our mentor. To understand this, I want to connect it with psychology a bit. What is the self? What is Satan? How does a person who does everything the self dictates, completely following its desires, act? Before defining the self, it's necessary to analyze the will and the characteristics of those who follow their lower self, to understand how some people function. What is the concept of will? The most researched topic in psychology right now is, ‘How do we make decisions?’ Those who conducted research on this received Nobel Prizes. How does a human decide? It's such an incredible experiment, a field of research,” he said.
Tarhan stated that in the books he read during his student years, the word 'will' was defined as a vague concept, emphasizing that psychology did not engage much with the word 'will' and that it was taught as a concept outside the scope of psychology. Tarhan made the following evaluations: “However, it is now understood that the human brain's decision-making mechanism is referred to as 'discipline of will' in our context, that is, in both the Quran and Islamic ethics. In other words, if there is discipline of will, there is discipline of the self. If there is no discipline of will, you ride the horse of the self. You ride the horse of Satan. Therefore, how do we understand the concept of will here? It needs to be thoroughly known. Therefore, being conscious is the first step. Our consciousness perceives. Because a human being is not merely defined by one aspect. They are not only alive, nor solely possessing a soul; humans possess consciousness,” he said.
“The self only has the power of guidance, not enforcement”
Prof. Dr. Nevzat Tarhan, stating that the self is like an engine, or an energy source, touched upon the fact that the self only has the characteristic of guidance, meaning advice and suggestion. Tarhan said; “One of the emotions that motivate humans is the self. Things like eating, drinking, procreating, and loving life are the self's motivations. It is the self's motivation. For example, the desire to live is a desire that activates the self in a human. So, what is Satan's role here? Satan has no power of enforcement whatsoever. Satan is not a benevolent being, but an evil one. Therefore, his duty is to lead people astray. Something constantly comes to a person's mind. For example, Satan directs the self towards doing evil. The self is like an engine. An engine is like an energy source. It directs a person towards their self, directs their thoughts. The self only has the characteristic of guidance, temptation, i.e., advice and suggestion. It has no power of enforcement,” he said.
Tarhan, who states that our will has six mechanisms, one of which is conscience, said, “Conscience teaches us what to do and what not to do, what is good and what is bad. Satan directs the self, conscience directs the soul. The soul connects a person to God. The soul program is like a computer program. We are in contact with only a small part of it, but when it directs you, you connect to the truth here,” he said.
Modernism Reduces Humans to Self-Focused Individuals
Prof. Dr. Nevzat Tarhan underlined that modernism currently reduces humans solely to eating, drinking, and procreating. Tarhan said; “Engaging with the dimension of meaning, deriving pleasure from it, and motivating oneself in that way is a high emotion, a human characteristic. Modernism has currently taken this characteristic away from humans. It has reduced humans solely to eating, drinking, and procreating. It is reverting to the Age of Ignorance (Jahiliyyah). Modernism is currently reducing humans to self-focused individuals. What is being self-focused? It is eating, drinking, and procreating. In psychology, this is referred to as Maslow’s hierarchy of psychosocial needs. At the very bottom of that pyramid are eating, drinking, and procreating. After that comes security, the need for trust. That is, the need for shelter exists in other living beings as well as in humans, but after that, there is social security. Physical security exists in other living beings, but social security exists in humans. The need to trust and be trusted, the need to love and be loved, the need to give value and be valued. Finally, Maslow concludes this with the need for self-actualization. Beyond self-actualization, humans also have a need for a search for meaning. In relation to this, 'meta-cognitive' genes are now being researched. The 'meaning-seeking' gene is being researched. For example, Tolstoy says; ‘I am searching for meaning that explains death.’ He cannot find it in Christianity and learns that it is in Islam,” he stated.
The Fate of a Selfish Person is to Remain Alone…
Tarhan pointed out that Satan’s greatest weapon is arrogance; “The greatest cause of loneliness is the proliferation of egocentric people who only pursue pleasure, only think of their own interests, and only consider their own desires. The fate of a selfish person is already to remain alone. When lonely people have power and money, there are people around them, but they are always different people. They revolve around them for power and money. Such people are egocentric, narcissistic, and see themselves as gods on earth. Their biggest 'organs' are their egos. The fate of these people is to remain alone. Because people love what they do. They don't love their personalities; they are arrogant, conceited, and always speak from a position of superiority. They say, ‘I am important, I am superior.’ They are the kind of people who make everyone kiss their hand. Imam Ghazali states; ‘If you fill all evils into a room, arrogance opens its door.’ Arrogance is indeed such an emotion that it feeds all evils; it is Satan's greatest weapon. Envy, for example, is Satan's greatest weapon. It inflates a person's ego, praises and praises, inflates and elevates it, and then to avoid falling from that position, one starts making concessions. By continuously making concessions, one becomes a slave to Satan and evils,” he said.
Our Brain Acts as a Bridge Between Matter and Meaning…
Prof. Dr. Nevzat Tarhan, stating that the brain is the mediating organ between the world of matter and the world of meaning; said, “Our brain is the mediating organ between the world of matter and the world of meaning. When making decisions, our brain related to the material dimension is like electronic circuits in a computer, but our soul is like a program in a computer. If you take a program from a computer, not a gram is lost, and when a person dies, not a gram is lost from their body; it is such a program, a software. The soul emerges according to the arrangement of magnetic particles. The soul program circulates in our brain. Accordingly, that soul program is also part of a greater meaning. Therefore, the soul connects. Consciousness perceives, the self desires. Satan directs the self, conscience differentiates and directs the soul. Reason interprets, sets goals, and gives the command to act. The heart loves, motivates. In such situations, our brain acts as a bridge between matter and meaning. There is an organ called the 'mind' that makes decisions. There is a mind above our brain. The mind is exclusive to humans; other living beings do not have an organ called the mind,” he said.