Psychiatrist Prof. Dr. Nevzat Tarhan stated that silently performed goodness is beneficial for both sides, saying, “Silent goodness is the highest quality and supreme position of goodness.” Dr. Nevzat Tarhan added, “In silent goodness, there is the unseen goodness of the person. It is a system where the doer of good is not known, and the recipient of good is also unaware. It is not one-sided but two-way goodness, and this is the ideal.” Tarhan stated that the concept of good and evil has been changed with modernism, saying, “Accountability among people has decreased. The question, ‘Why should a person do good?’ can be asked. Unfortunately, the world is heading in that direction. This situation is related to the prominence of hedonism and the changing concepts of good and evil.” Tarhan also likened acts of goodness done in expectation of return to usury.
Goodness done in expectation of return is usury…
Üsküdar University Founding Rector, Psychiatrist Prof. Dr. Nevzat Tarhan, evaluated the effects of performing silent acts of goodness on psychological well-being. Prof. Dr. Tarhan stated that the concept of goodness is the most debated topic among philosophers, moral philosophers, and religious scholars.
There is no such thing as evil, there is the absence of goodness
Prof. Dr. Nevzat Tarhan stated that to understand goodness, one must also know the boundary between evil and good, saying, “The concept of good and evil is also similar to the second law of thermodynamics, the law of entropy. According to the law of entropy, the universe moves from order to disorder. The universe is progressively cooling. As the universe progressively cools, there will eventually be heat death in the universe. The universe is continuously heated by heat. Our orbit is heated by the sun, the Milky Way, and stars. When it is not heated, it cools, so it needs to be continuously heated. Light and darkness are the same. When there is no light, we say darkness, and when there is no warmth, we say coldness. Similarly, when there is no goodness, we say evil. In fact, there is no such thing as evil. There is the absence of goodness. There is no such thing as darkness, there is the absence of light. There is no such thing as cold, there is the absence of heat. Goodness needs to be continuously active and in action. When goodness is not done, evil spreads spontaneously. When goodness is absent, evil is directly activated.”
Modernism changed the concept of goodness
Prof. Dr. Nevzat Tarhan, stating that modernism changed the concept of goodness, said, “Modernism reduced the concept of goodness to two impasses. ‘If you don't like it, it's bad; if you like it, it's good. If it suits your interest, it's good; if it doesn't suit your interest, it's bad.’ This is what modernism teaches us now. The concept of good and evil taught to us by Western culture has been reduced to this. There is no justice; it encourages competition. It encouraged this for competition, for the powerful to prevail, and for production to increase. When it was encouraged, production increased, but people became unhappy. This time, people who do not see the poor emerged. Many people currently cannot access clean water. The world is heading towards serious income inequality.”
Capitalism became the sole system
Tarhan emphasized that this situation is the result of modernism, Western culture, and capitalism, stating, “Marxism used to balance this situation. Marxism played an important and balancing role in Europe becoming a social state. Now that has also disappeared, and capitalism has become the sole system. It is now moving towards a selfish and Western-centric world. It has also reduced the concepts of good, evil, and morality to this.”
Hedonism came to the forefront
Prof. Dr. Nevzat Tarhan, stating that a serious moral confusion could be experienced in the coming years, said, “Because we changed the concept of good and evil with modernism. Accountability among people has decreased. The question, ‘Why should a person do good?’ can be asked. Unfortunately, the world is heading in that direction. This situation is related to the prominence of hedonism and the changing concepts of good and evil. The concepts of good and evil are changing in this context. That is why silent goodness is of great importance. We have now given up on silent goodness; we have become content with goodness, even if it is for show. We are in such a state.”
Silent goodness is two-way goodness
Prof. Dr. Nevzat Tarhan, saying, “Silent goodness is the highest quality and supreme position of goodness,” added, “In silent goodness, there is the unseen goodness of the person. It is a system where the doer of good is not known, and the recipient of good is also unaware. It is not one-sided but a two-sided thing, and this is the ideal. In our culture, there were 'charity stones' where citizens would go and leave certain things, and those in need would take what they needed from there. It still exists in Anatolia. Some people take the grocer's ledger and the account is closed, but it's not clear by whom. It's also not clear to whom the good was done. This is two-way goodness and truly silent goodness.”
Goodness done in expectation of return is usury
Prof. Dr. Nevzat Tarhan stated that sometimes, if a person knows to whom they are doing good, feelings of pride and arrogance can arise, saying, “In the case of silent goodness, this risk is eliminated. We call it sincere goodness, not calculated goodness. Calculated goodness involves self-interest. Like, if I give you a chicken, you give me a goose. This is not goodness. Goodness done in expectation of return is a kind of usury because you expect profit from it, but silent goodness or random acts of kindness are not usury.”
The Western world teaches silent goodness
Prof. Dr. Nevzat Tarhan stated that the Western world now understands the value of goodness, especially the concept of silent goodness, saying, “They give social responsibility project lessons to high school students. A student goes to a nursing home. They ask the student to serve there for a week and report on it. Or they ask them to help with cleaning in an area and report on it. They ask them to go to a children’s care home and help there. This is Anatolian wisdom and the teaching of the Holy Quran. The universal understanding of prophetic morality is already this. Abandoning this is moving away from light and towards darkness. It is moving away from goodness and towards evil. If evil in society rises to 50%, chaos will ensue. Currently, it has already exceeded %5-.” he warned.
Good and evil are learned in the family
Prof. Dr. Nevzat Tarhan noted that the concepts of good and evil are learned in the family and stated that the world has become a livable place thanks to acts of goodness, saying the following:
“We first understand the concepts of good and evil from our mother, then our father. It is especially important during childhood. It is very important for family and school to encourage goodness. Mother Teresa has a beautiful saying: ‘By doing good one by one, the world becomes a livable place.’ Good deeds make the world livable. I would like to give you an example: A young person working in a workplace attends a random gratitude training related to personal development. The child buys a tie for his manager. The manager is surprised by this and asks what his motive is. The child is surprised and says that as a result of the gratitude course he took, he learned that goodness should be done to those who do good, and that's why he did it. The man is embarrassed but likes it and wants to do good to someone he loves. So he decides to buy a gift for his son. His son starts crying when he sees the gift. Upon receiving his father's gift, the child pulls a rope from his pocket and says he thought no one loved him and that he planned to hang himself that night. Good deeds make society livable. Especially silent good deeds make society livable.”