Üsküdar Üniversitesi Founding Rector Prof. Dr. Nevzat Tarhan participated in the event titled “Global Well-being After the Pandemic,” organized by the Ankara Culture and Education Foundation (AKEV). Tarhan stated that the pandemic began at a time when people were experiencing a spiritual crisis; “The pandemic is a crisis. In a crisis, breakdowns occur at the weakest points. It is necessary to take the right position and intervene in crises. We must now turn the crisis into a gain by using its opportunity dimension.”
“The pandemic erupted at a time when ego was at its peak”
Tarhan stated that before the COVID-19 pandemic began, humanity was experiencing Industry 4.0 and arrogance had reached its peak, and that the pandemic could not be ended despite developing technology. Tarhan said; “There are visible and invisible reasons for the occurrence of COVID. Infectious diseases are visible reasons, but there are invisible spiritual reasons. If we talk about today's reality, Industry 4.0 was announced in the 21st century. The world is rapidly heading towards a digital dictatorship. There was a serious ego explosion. The famous historian Harari, who approached this critically, stated, 'We are the last free generation in human history.' It was announced at DAVOS 2018 that brains could be hacked. When they built the Titanic, they said, 'Even God cannot sink this!', and an iceberg sank it. With Industry 4.0, egos peaked, and then COVID-19 erupted. Despite developing technology, the pandemic cannot be ended.”
“The synthesis of religion and science should be done in minds”
Emphasizing that a new tradition must be created with the synthesis of reason and religion to keep up with global developments and not fall behind, Prof. Dr. Tarhan said; “It is necessary to create a new tradition with the synthesis of religion and science. There is a need for a new wind where reason and tradition, secular sciences and religious sciences unite. Abdülhamid provided education in two areas, 'mektepli' (schooled) and 'alaylı' (trained by experience), with the sultanate schools he established. The Committee of Union and Progress succeeded because the 'mektepli' captured the spirit of the time. The children Abdülhamid raised overthrew him. A very radical process was experienced because the Republic came without mental transformation. Unfortunately, this is still ongoing. What we need to do is invest in brains. The locomotive of spiritual progress is material progress. The synthesis of religion and science should be done in minds. We need to be literate in the book of the universe. If we do not want to be part of the game of global powers, we must realize mental transformation. We are currently connected with society, but if we cannot achieve this within 10 years, we will lose future generations.”
“We must turn the pandemic crisis into a gain”
Tarhan stated that the pandemic came at a time when people were experiencing emotional distress; “The Western world was caught by the pandemic at a time when income was increasing according to graphs, but happiness was decreasing. 20 out of 100 children in the world are in isolation. These children are called the 'digital generation.' The rate of depression is rapidly increasing. The pandemic is a crisis. There are things that need to be done in a crisis. In a crisis, breakdowns occur at the weakest points. It is necessary to take the right position and intervene in crises. We must now turn the crisis into a gain by using its opportunity dimension.”
“Intellectual viruses are effective in the world”
Tarhan stated that people realized the blessings they had during the pandemic process; “At our university, we tested 6,000 people with Psychosocial Growth Rates. As a result of this scale, 60% of society has taken a positive stance in the crisis and is learning lessons from the pandemic. This is a very good development. After the pandemic, there was an increase in suicide cases in Asian countries. Loneliness has become a serious problem in many countries, and many states, especially the UK, have established Ministries Responsible for Loneliness. In the Crisis of Civilization, the crisis of Hedonism (pleasure-seeking) comes first. Freud says, 'The existential activity of humans is to pursue pleasure.' Modernism adopted this principle. Narcissism (Lack of Empathy) has taken society hostage. As a result, loneliness emerged. Unhappiness, depression, and suicide cases occur in lonely people. Intellectual viruses are effective in the world.”
“We can present human values to our students with Positive Psychology”
Stating that the last generation does not know our moral and cultural values, Tarhan conveyed that our values should be taught to this generation through Positive Psychology education. Tarhan said; “If there were no frontal lobe, there would be no morality or civilization. We learn what is in the front part of our brain later. Morality does not come with genes; it is learned later. The first place values are learned is the family and ages 0-3. Ages 0-3 is the period when the brain blossoms. Harvard University included Positive Psychology as a course. Here, Anatolian wisdom and Rumi (Mevlana) are taught, even without mentioning sources. Üsküdar Üniversitesi included this course in 2013, before Harvard. So far, 90% of our 23,000 graduates and 22,000 active students have received this education. Students' emotional intelligence increased by 20%. We can present human values, the synthesis of religion and science to our students in this way. We have to bring beliefs and religion into the laboratory. Our traditional teachings do not affect this generation; we must teach them with these types of education,” he concluded.