Psychiatrist Prof. Dr. Nevzat Tarhan stated that the emotions of hatred, anger, hatred, jealousy and enmity, which are called the five horsemen of darkness, also harm people biologically and emphasized that malicious emotions should be tamed. Tarhan said, "If we do not tame the malicious emotions within us like we tame a wild horse, the wild horse will take us wherever it wants. The wild horse is the sense of ego."
Üsküdar University Founding Rector, Psychiatrist Prof. Dr. Nevzat Tarhan pointed out the importance of empathy and said that this feeling contributes to the solution of problems.
Empathy is trying to understand others
Stating that a post circulating on social media actually describes empathy in the best way, Prof. Dr. Nevzat Tarhan said, "Next to the photo of a cleaning worker bending down to pick up the garbage on the ground, the note "Keep in mind! For every thing we throw and leave on the ground, a person's back bends!". This is a very important message. It shows a worker picking up garbage on the ground. Someone has thrown something on the ground and that person picks it up. His back bends as he picks it up. The person who throws the garbage out of the car window doesn't think about this. Empathy is not about putting ourselves in someone else's shoes, but about trying to understand our feelings, our personality and others as they are, while protecting ourselves. If a person fulfills his/her responsibilities, he/she does not harm another person."
There is a sense of grandiosity behind the lack of empathy
Prof. Dr. Nevzat Tarhan stated that almost all of the researches on why people do evil reveal a lack of empathy and said, "Behind the lack of empathy is narcissism, a sense of greatness. Narcissistic people cannot empathize and cannot see the rights of others. These people do not develop a sense of right. The strong oppress the weak. Those who have means marginalize those who do not. Behind all the conflicts in the world is the inability to look at things objectively. When empathic vision development is taught to people, people solve 80% of the problems."
Malicious emotions must be tamed
Prof. Dr. Nevzat Tarhan stated that there are malevolent and benevolent emotions in every human being, and the important thing is about which emotion the human being wants to nurture:
"The humanist school said, 'There is no evil in human beings'. The humanist school emerged as a reaction to Christian thought. Christian culture was saying 'Man is innately evil'. Human beings are born with feelings of infinite good and infinite evil. If we don't tame the evil feelings within us like we tame a wild horse, the wild horse will take us wherever it wants. The wild horse is the sense of ego. The ego has such a characteristic that it becomes a god, a pharaoh. We all have malevolent and benevolent emotions within us. They asked the sage who had two dogs with him. The dogs, one black and one white, are always fighting. 'Which one do you think will win?' they ask. The sage replies, 'Whichever one we feed will win. We need to know which of our emotions are benevolent and which are malevolent. This knowledge is the knowledge of wisdom."
Malicious emotions are also biologically damaging
Stating that emotions cannot be destroyed but malicious emotions must be trained, Prof. Dr. Nevzat Tarhan said that the emotions of hatred, anger, hatred, jealousy and enmity, which are referred to as the five horsemen of darkness, also harm people biologically.
Capital should be developed for a purpose
Prof. Dr. Nevzat Tarhan said, "Malicious emotions also release acidic chemicals in our brain. It spreads from our brain to our body. It disrupts the immune system. We do the greatest harm to ourselves with malicious emotions. If we teach how to feed and manage our malicious emotions correctly, it whips and energizes us. It contributes to our development. If we want to make ourselves not ordinary but wise people, we need to tame the sleeping power within us. It is important to develop capital for a purpose. The word "economics" comes from the root "purpose". For an economy to be successful, it must have a purpose. No one without a purpose can be taught economics and money management, so the purpose should be taught first."
During adolescence, emotions are in charge more than the mind
Prof. Dr. Nevzat Tarhan noted that during adolescence, emotions are on the circuit, more mistakes are made and parental attitudes are important in this period. "The word 'teenager' is not in vain. Some schools of psychology call it a normal schizophrenic period. I understood better after I came across a saying of the Prophet Muhammad, who said, 'Puberty is a branch of insanity'. If parents know the characteristics of this period and act accordingly, the child grows better. If they are left too relaxed, they loosen up, if they are squeezed too much, they run away. Adolescence is a period when feelings are in charge rather than reason."
Happiness is the pursuit of meaning
Stating that young people are sometimes not happy despite the opportunities they have, Tarhan said, "Happiness runs away as you try to catch it. It is like a cat playing with its tail. Happiness is not the pursuit of pleasure, but the pursuit of meaning. When we work with young people, we ask if they have an ego ideal. People should have ego ideals that transcend themselves. He should have ideals for himself, his family and his homeland. If a person takes these ideals as a cause, they can be productive and useful to others. This has been seen through trial and error. What we always try to teach young people is positive psychology. Young people can love our culture with the help of science, otherwise young people are consumed by popular culture. Feeling pain and suffering is part of change and development. There is no development without suffering. There is no gain without pain."
