Psychiatrist Prof. Dr. Nevzat Tarhan, noting that difficult times call for strong people, and strong people create comfortable times, said, “When comfortable times exist, weak people emerge. When weak people multiply, difficult times arise.”
Prof. Dr. Tarhan: “What we call Confortism is something that is increasingly spreading in Western culture right now, and is also becoming widespread in our society. It can also be called comfort-seeking or worldliness.”
Üsküdar University Founding Rector, Psychiatrist Prof. Dr. Nevzat Tarhan, evaluated the concept of confortism.
Prof. Dr. Tarhan stated that the brain works as it imagines, noting that virtual reality experiments are being conducted in artificial intelligence studies, and that the brain can be taught to experience a situation by imagining it.
Tarhan stated that happiness and the pursuit of pleasure are inherent in human psychological nature, explaining that the first philosophers of antiquity said that what humans seek in life is happiness, and that eating, drinking, and procreating, like other living beings in the world, are not enough to make humans happy.
Human desires, wishes are limitless, needs are limitless, power is very limited
Tarhan stated that because humans are abstract and conceptual beings, they dream and want to be happy in their dream world, saying, “Their desires, wishes are limitless, needs are limitless, power is very limited. In their dream world, for example, they want to go to space.”
Tarhan also noted that humans want eternity and happiness to be simultaneous, and continued as follows:
“Humans are born, live, grow, and die. Life is normal. But as one ages, the human desire to live, the fire of life, accelerates even more, becoming livelier. As they age, they want to live more. That’s why they relentlessly pursue the fire of youth. There are incredible projects continuously related to postponing death.
The human brain and nature programmed for a happy eternity
Just as the existence of a feeling of hunger in humans has a cause-and-effect relationship with the existence of food, so too does the human soul’s search for eternity and an endless happiness and peace… An eternal peace, an everlasting peace and happiness, has a cause-and-effect relationship with the existence of life. A wise person thinks long-term, a strategic person says, ‘Everything happening in this world is very meaningless.’ They think, ‘There must be a higher world beyond this world, a higher universe, a reality, an unseen reality’…”
Prof. Dr. Tarhan stated that research shows that all achievements in this world do not satisfy the brain; rather, eternity satisfies it. He said, “Eternity, but a happy eternity. A happy eternity. The human brain and nature are programmed for that… If you examine a program in your brain, which we can call a soul program, what is its purpose, what is its ideal? If you ask, in its ideal, humanity seeks this. This is where Confortism also emerges.”
Conformism and Confortism should not be confused
Prof. Dr. Nevzat Tarhan stated that conformism and confortism should not be confused, also noting that humans are beings who want to exert little effort and gain much. Conformism, in its dictionary definition, means compliance, expressing obedience, and is a more positive concept. Confortism, on the other hand, can be defined as comfort-seeking, pleasure-seeking, convenience-seeking, and placing one's comfort at the center of one's life.
Prof. Dr. Tarhan also said that humans can disregard their values, personal values, and beliefs for their own comfort or expectations.
Prof. Dr. Tarhan stated that a person’s ability to obey wrong for personal gain can also be called opportunism, adding, “Confortism is like this; you comply for self-interest. You say yes to everything. A significant portion of such people quickly change sides when power shifts. These individuals exhibit a lot of hypocrisy, a tendency to act according to authority. It is about being on the side of the strong, behaving close to the powerful.”
What we call Confortism is something that is increasingly spreading in Western culture right now
Prof. Dr. Nevzat Tarhan concluded his words as follows:
“What we call Confortism is something that is increasingly spreading in Western culture right now, and is also becoming widespread in our society. It can also be called comfort-seeking or worldliness. One does not want to move a limb for their own comfort or pleasures. If you ask, ‘What is the purpose of life?’ it is said, ‘To live comfortably here,’ implying the neglect of social responsibilities, the interests of others, and an empathetic perspective.
Individuals who have easily obtained everything and have been presented with a comfortable life tend to be susceptible to this kind of situation. This is actually not very surprising. If such a child or person is not given a good education, and has easily obtained everything, it is quite expected for a person to be like this.
People who do not suffer for high values have multiplied in our time
Difficult times call for strong people. Strong people, in turn, create comfortable times. When comfortable times exist, weak people emerge. When weak people multiply, difficult times arise. Now, as ease and comfort increase, weak people will emerge. People who do not struggle, do not assert their rights, do not suffer for themselves or others, and do not suffer for high values have, in our time, multiplied.
When there is a small personal gain, they can easily sell their values, sell their values for self-interest. This tendency exists within humans, but humanity needs to question this tendency and try to control it, we can say.”