Üsküdar Üniversitesi Founding Rector, Psychiatrist Prof. Dr. Nevzat Tarhan met with undergraduate and graduate students from various universities in Istanbul at the ‘Psychology Talks’ event, which took place within the scope of the Culture and Art Activities organized by the Türkiye Touring and Automobile Club. Stating that the key word for being a good person is empathy, Tarhan said that the biggest reason for evil in the world is a lack of empathy. Emphasizing that hopelessness and pessimism are the biggest enemies of young people in this period, Tarhan added that the brain would not help those who are hopeless and pessimistic.
Journalist Şaban Özdemir moderated the event, which took place with students studying at various universities in Istanbul, hosted by the Türkiye Touring and Automobile Club.
“Teaching empathy means teaching to be a good person”
Emphasizing that children and young people are exposed to a lot of cyberbullying, Üsküdar Üniversitesi Founding Rector Prof. Dr. Nevzat Tarhan said; “People go on social media and hours pass, the purpose is unclear, time is incredibly wasted. Now all young people have social media and there is no such thing as time left. They are carried away by the immersive effect of social media. Here are some recommendations for parents for the education of pre-adolescent children; the first is to give children responsibility, that is, to teach them to use social media purposefully when entering it. The second is to teach the skill of being empathetic. Children and young people are exposed to a lot of cyberbullying. When a child learns empathy, they don't do it to others. In other words, the biggest reason for evil in the world is a lack of empathy. Lack of empathy is present in narcissistic personality traits. Antisocial, narcissistic individuals lack empathy. Teaching empathy means teaching to be a good person. If we ask what the key word for being a good person is, it is empathy.”
“One who looks at the event only from their own perspective cannot reveal the truth”
Prof. Dr. Nevzat Tarhan stated that someone who looks at an event only from their own perspective cannot make the right decision. Tarhan; “One who looks at the event only from their own perspective cannot reveal the truth, they don’t understand the other side. If a person wants to solve a problem, Mevlana has a saying; ‘It's not what you understand, but what the other side understands that is important.’ this is the meaning of empathy. In relationships, what the other side understands is always more important than what I say. When a person learns this, they learn relationship management. The first step in relationship management is self-awareness, which is knowing oneself. It is knowing oneself in terms of my strengths and weaknesses, but unfortunately, there are some old personal development schools of thought. They don't want a person to confront their weak points at all. They always want them to confront their good and strong points. In this case, ego-inflated, self-important types emerge. Unfortunately, the current global capitalist system feeds egoism. Because an egoist person works hard and produces saying, 'Either I succeed or I perish,' the capitalist system encourages production through consumption.” he said.
“Egocentrism is a disease that modernism has brought us”
Underlining that while some segments of society get richer in the capitalist system, others become extremely impoverished, Tarhan said; “Currently, the United Nations lists ‘3 Major Dangers Awaiting in the Future’ as; Firstly, climate change, secondly, global inequality, i.e., economic inequality, and thirdly, loneliness. An egocentric person becomes lonely, when lonely they become unhappy, suicides increase, depression increases, and many cases increase. Egocentrism is a disease that modernism has brought us. What we need to pay attention to here is to know our strengths, our weaknesses, and ourselves, self-awareness… We will also see our weaknesses, but in life, we will move forward focusing on our strengths. Not by denying our weaknesses, but by saying these are my weaknesses, these are my strengths, and we will manage them as we move towards our goal.”
“Challenging situations bring out the talents within a person”
Stating that hopelessness and pessimism are currently the biggest enemies of young people, Tarhan said that the brain would not help those who are hopeless and pessimistic. Tarhan; “The current generations certainly have an A plan, a B plan, a C plan, a D plan, an E plan. They will implement one of those plans. Whoever has big data will rule the world; the more big data you have, the stronger you are. Now, it is necessary to teach big data. If you collect and grow the data you have, discoveries will be made that way. The most important thing for future generations is not to fall into pessimism. Reaching the summit is not easy for a mountaineer at all. That is, the paths in mountaineering are not flowery and buggy, they are not fancy paths, they are difficult paths, stony paths. One targets the difficult path, aspiring to difficulty. Those with a plan reach the peak, reach the summit. In life, too, to reach the summit, you must set your goal and push yourself. Challenging situations bring out the talents within a person. Strong people give rise to comfortable times. Comfortable times bring out weak people. Weak times give rise to strong people. There is such a trend. If we want to be strong, we need to push our limits. Let's push our conditions.”