Prof. Tarhan: “Narcissism is one of the biggest causes of evil”

President of Üsküdar University Psychiatrist Prof. Nevzat Tarhan participated in an online interview organized by İZGE Academy under the title “Psychology of Evil and Toxic Relationships”. Stating that evil is increasing globally, Tarhan addressed the psychological, social, and cultural reasons for this situation. Emphasizing that narcissism is one of the biggest causes of evil, Tarhan stressed that combating evil is possible by multiplying good, strengthening compassion, and giving importance to preventive mental health studies.  

The interview, held with the participation of readers who read Nevzat Tarhan’s book “Psychology of Evil and Toxic Relationships”, was moderated by Specialist Psychologist and Counselor Erkam Gökdemir.

“The issue of evil is seriously increasing globally”

President of Üsküdar University Psychiatrist Prof. Nevzat Tarhan stated that the phenomenon of evil has shown a serious global increase in recent years. Tarhan said: “The issue of evil is seriously increasing globally. In fact, we first noticed this in 2014 and conducted a literature review. In America, an academic working in the field of forensic psychiatry at New York State University developed a scale for moral deviance called the ‘Depravity Scale’. We corresponded with him to conduct a validity and reliability study of this scale in Turkey. This scale examines how and at what level depravity, which we call moral decay, occurs in humans. With the pandemic, this situation has intensified. We are currently experiencing a serious drift, and precautions need to be taken against its negative consequences. From that period onwards, I thought we should do a study on evil. From a professional perspective, we need to understand why these people are ruthless, bloodthirsty, and conscienceless. There must be a reason for this. These cases come to us in the field of forensic psychiatry. A storm is coming, and this evil needs to be analyzed.”

“The book was designed like traffic signs on the path of life”

Stating that explaining the psychology of evil solely through a lack of empathy is insufficient, Tarhan said: “For example, there is a book by David Baron on the psychology of evil. Baron, one of the figures who developed the concept of emotional intelligence, reduced all evil to a lack of empathy. A lack of empathy is very important, but it is not the only reason. Why does a lack of empathy occur in a person? The innate tendency for empathy exists in everyone. So, if a person is born with this ability to empathize, why don't they use it? Some people use it, some don't, or they use it for manipulation. All these need to be addressed. In the book, I comprehensively addressed the psychology of evil. It may sound a bit ambitious, but I researched all the literature on the psychology of evil in the world. I haven't seen a study as comprehensive as my book. Hopefully, if it is translated into English, it will reach wider audiences. When we embark on a journey of life related to evil, there are traffic signs; when you go on a journey, traffic signs show you how to proceed. The book was also designed like traffic signs on the path of life, in a way, to protect against evil.”

“We are experiencing a globalizing civilization crisis”

Tarhan stated that the civilization crisis experienced today has significant consequences at individual and societal levels: “There is a concept used in popular psychiatry called the California Syndrome. In fact, the situation we are experiencing today is not just the California Syndrome, but the syndrome of global civilization. We are experiencing a globalizing civilization crisis that started with Western civilization. There are four main symptoms of this. The first is hedonism, seeing pleasure as the purpose of life, chasing after pleasure. Secondly, egocentrism and narcissism emerge. Narcissism is currently one of the biggest global causes of evil. I had a book titled ‘The Narcissism Epidemic’ brought from the USA. Statistics show that narcissistic personality patterns are rapidly rising. These individuals lack empathy. They cannot effectively use the mirror neurons in their brain and do not care what the other person thinks or feels. The third characteristic is loneliness. One of the most prominent features of these people is their loneliness. For this reason, Ministries of Loneliness were established in the UK and Japan. The United Nations also listed income inequality as the first of the three major dangers awaiting the future, climate change as the second, and loneliness as the third. Especially in Northern Europe, deaths alone at home are very common. This is because social ties have seriously weakened. People don't even care for their parents.”

The dark toxic triad…

Prof. Nevzat Tarhan stated that personality traits defined as the ‘dark toxic triad’ pose a serious risk to society, explaining this structure by likening it to a cancer cell. Tarhan said: “The dark toxic triad… If this triad exists, these individuals are like cancer cells. What is the characteristic of a cancer cell? When a cancer cell emerges in the body, it is limitless, insatiable, and greedy. For example, when a cancer cell starts to grow in the liver, it also destroys the surrounding tissues. It is insatiable because it consumes more oxygen and glucose. This is why it becomes visible in imaging devices like PET when it reaches 3 millimeters and can be used for early diagnosis. This is because a cancer cell forms its own vascular structure to consume more oxygen. It is limitless, insatiable, and irresponsible. It is irresponsible because the body will die, it will spread throughout the body, and eventually, it will die with the body, but it doesn't think, 'Where am I going, what will be the end of this?' Narcissistic personalities and what we call the toxic or dark triad are like this. These individuals have narcissistic traits. Their sense of entitlement is only directed towards themselves. They only think of their own interests and lack empathy. They act on the principle of 'what I like, what I don't like' and have no sense of justice. Since their sense of entitlement is only directed towards themselves, they are self-serving. They see themselves as special, important, and superior. In fact, these individuals also exhibit dehumanism.”

“Whichever we feed will win”

Stating that both good and evil exist within a person, Tarhan explained why he attaches importance to preventive mental health studies. Tarhan said: “It exists in our wisdom stories. A wise man, walking with a child next to him, had two dogs, one black and one white. The dogs were fighting. The child asked, 'Grandpa, which dog do you think will win?' The wise grandpa’s answer is very interesting. 'My child, whichever one we feed will win.' The black dog represents evil, the white dog represents good. Whichever one we feed will win. There is a bad part in all of us. If we feed it, we become bad; if we feed the good part, we become good. This is what we, as psychology professionals, should do. Working to prevent people from getting sick is much more important. This way, you can reach more people. Societal benefit is more important than individual benefit. For this reason, since the 2000s, I have felt the need to conduct studies on preventive mental health in areas such as psychology of happiness, stress management, and marriage. Because our field is mental health and diseases. Precautions must be taken before a disease occurs. I wish patients would decrease, or even disappear, but unfortunately, that is not the case. Diseases are increasing globally. This means we cannot explain enough to people.”

“The most beautiful way to fight darkness is to light a candle”

Emphasizing that evil is increasing globally today, but good should be strengthened against it, Tarhan drew attention to the importance of social solidarity. Tarhan said: “Older generations matured amidst scarcity, while current generations mature amidst abundance. The form of trial has changed. In such situations, it is more common to see people going astray, derailing, and emerging unexpectedly. The increase in evil is indeed accelerating under the influence of global winds. As evil increases, we need to work for good to also increase. The most beautiful way to fight darkness is to light a candle in your own domain. The most beautiful way to fight evil is to do a good deed. Let's do good deeds on our own scale. The more people we can reach and the more good we can do, the more value we will create. Let's be generous in goodness. In our culture, greeting is considered charity. Smiling at a person is considered charity, as is seeking forgiveness. All these are indicators of the importance given to social bonds and social emotions. Eastern cultures have rich social capital, while Western cultures have rich financial capital. In fact, today, both cultures need each other.”

“A narcissistic personality sees everyone as their own satellite”

Referring to the historical changes in the understanding of feminism, Tarhan evaluated the effects of narcissism on individual and social relationships. Tarhan said: “When feminism first emerged, it was justified as a women's liberation movement. It represented the struggle against male oppression. First-wave feminism was a justified feminism because it was a movement for women's emancipation. However, in second-wave feminism, the process began to derail a bit. It turned into male-female competition, and even male-female wars. The biggest victims of this were marriages and children, and divorces increased. Today, there is an understanding called third-wave feminism, which can manifest itself as misandry. For example, in a video, you see a woman beating a man and she receives great applause. The weak defeating the oppressor might appeal to us at first glance, but in the background, there can also be a hidden understanding like anti-marriage and anti-male sentiment. This is also a dangerous situation. The most basic characteristic of a narcissistic person is self-admiration. A narcissistic person takes a mirror and says, 'Oh mirror, oh mirror, is there anyone more beautiful than me?' Its Turkish equivalent is the narcissus flower. The narcissus flower stands with its head bowed by the water's edge. The story of Narcissus in Greek mythology is also inspired by this. Narcissus sees his reflection by the water's edge and wants to touch it, saying, 'How beautiful.' While trying to touch it, he falls into the water and drowns. The flower that grows where he drowned is called the narcissus flower. A narcissistic personality is someone who admires themselves, loves themselves, and sees everyone as their own satellite. These individuals use manipulation as a method.”

“Our civilization is a civilization of compassion”

Emphasizing that the civilization of compassion lies at the heart of social responsibility efforts, Tarhan said: “We are currently carrying out projects at the university with our ‘Come Hold My Hand’ association for children under the protection of the Ministry of Family and Social Services. The association was founded by the Istanbul Governorship in 2010. Later, our team took over, and we continue its activities. I am currently also its president. We established the Silent Values Federation by bringing together seven associations working with children and disadvantaged individuals. We operate with an open and transparent approach, based entirely on selfless mutual aid. All these are social responsibility projects. It is necessary to reach out to disadvantaged people. When there is a crying person in need of help in society, your ability to sleep comfortably, stretch out your feet, and drink tea should bother you. When you see the people in Gaza, your throat should tighten. Truly, if we can fix it with our hands, we should; if not with our hands, then with our words; and if not with our words, then with our hearts, we must take a stand against it. We hope that none of these efforts will be in vain in the eyes of Allah. These deeds must be done with sincerity. They are not done expecting profit; they are done selflessly. Then they become valuable. Some call our civilization a civilization of love, but in fact, our civilization is not a civilization of love, but a civilization of compassion. Because compassion and mercy are greater concepts than love. Within compassion and mercy, there is selfless love. In other forms of love, one may love for personal gain, but love given without expecting benefit is a greater love; its name is compassion. Beyond respect, there is kindness. Kindness is not wanting to hurt the other person and possessing delicacy. This is also one of the important teachings of our civilization.”

“True freedom is being able to say no to the desires and impulses within us”

Stating that narcissism is not a trait that should be completely eradicated, and what is important is to manage this energy correctly, Tarhan said: “Narcissism is the nuclear energy within us, a wild energy, a wild horse. It wants to take us wherever it pleases, but if we can discipline our narcissistic energy, that energy will take us to our goal. When an impulse to inflate our ego comes from within, we must be able to say, 'No, I will do what is right, not what I like; I will do what is right, not what benefits me.' This is true freedom. True freedom is not living as you please, breaking down walls and chains. It is being able to say 'no' to the desires and impulses, temptations and seductions within us. If a person has this freedom, they can control the bad part within them and use it like a riding horse to reach their goals. Therefore, it is necessary not to extinguish that energy, but to manage it. We cannot kill our nafs (ego/self). The nafs does not completely disappear until a person dies. Even if it reaches the stations of nafs al-mutmainna (contented self) and nafs al-raziya (pleased self), that core continues to exist. However, when a person dies, the soul separates from the body, and then it ends. If the nafs were to disappear completely, a person would be a being incapable of sinning. This is not in line with divine wisdom. Because in this world, humans are given the opportunity to choose between good and evil. A human being is prone to both infinite good and infinite evil and is undergoing a trial in this world. This trial also reveals who is ungrateful, who is thankful, and who is appreciative in the face of the blessings given to them.”