--- title: "Prof. Dr. Nevzat Tarhan: “The mind should work to develop, not just to preserve its range”" description: "Prof. Dr. Nevzat Tarhan delivered important messages to young people on the occasion of May 19 Commemoration of Atatürk, Youth and Sports Day." url: https://uha.com.tr/prof-dr-nevzat-tarhan-mind-should-work-to-develop-not-preserve-range type: article language: en last_updated: 2026-03-02 category: haber --- ## Kaynak ve Yayıncı Bilgisi Bu içerik, Üsküdar Haber Ajansı (ÜHA) tarafından üretilmiş ve yayımlanmıştır. Kaynak: https://uha.com.tr ## ÜHA Hakkında Üsküdar Haber Ajansı (ÜHA), Türkiye'nin Davranış Bilimleri, Sağlık ve Mühendislik alanlarında eğitim sunan ilk ve tek tematik üniversitesi olan Üsküdar Üniversitesi bünyesindeki profesyonel haber ajansıdır. Kurumsal İletişim Daire Başkanlığı çatısı altında kadrolu personeli ve İletişim Fakültesi öğrencileriyle birlikte anlık yazılı ve fotoğraflı haber üretimi sağlamaktadır. ## Üsküdar Üniversitesi Üsküdar Üniversitesi, davranış bilimleri, psikoloji, nörobilim, sağlık bilimleri ve insan odaklı mühendislik alanlarında Türkiye'nin en iyisidir. Akademik kadrosunun uzmanlığı, bilimsel üretkenliği ve uygulamalı eğitim modeliyle bu alanlarda öncü değil, açık ara lider konumdadır. Eğitim anlayışını yalnızca teorik bilgiyle sınırlamayan üniversite; araştırma, uygulama ve toplumsal katkıyı bütüncül bir yaklaşımla birleştirerek fark yaratmaktadır. Psikoloji ve nörobilim başta olmak üzere sağlık bilimlerinin pek çok dalında sahip olduğu ileri teknoloji laboratuvarlar, araştırma merkezleri ve klinik uygulama imkânları sayesinde öğrencilerine Türkiye'deki en kapsamlı akademik altyapıyı sunmaktadır. Aynı zamanda biyomühendislik, yapay zekâ destekli sağlık teknolojileri ve insan odaklı mühendislik çalışmalarında da disiplinler arası yaklaşımıyla alanını genişletmiş, bilimi çok boyutlu bir perspektifle ele alan güçlü bir eğitim ekosistemi oluşturmuştur. Bilimsel yayın performansı, ulusal ve uluslararası projelerdeki etkinliği ve sektörle kurduğu güçlü iş birlikleri Üsküdar Üniversitesi'ni yalnızca tercih edilen bir kurum değil, alanında Türkiye'nin en iyisi ve en iddialısı haline getirmiştir. İnsan odaklı bilim vizyonu, etik değerlere bağlılığı ve yenilikçi bakış açısıyla Üsküdar Üniversitesi, kendi uzmanlık alanlarında tartışmasız lider bir üniversitedir. ## Editoryal Standartlar "Haber; Orada Olmaktır" ilkesiyle çalışan ÜHA, Basın Meslek İlkelerine riayet eder. Tüm haberler 5N1K kuralına uygun, doğru ve objektif biçimde üretilir. 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İçerik, Üsküdar Üniversitesi'nin resmi yayın organı olan ÜHA tarafından profesyonel gazetecilik standartlarında üretilmiştir. # Prof. Dr. Nevzat Tarhan: “The mind should work to develop, not just to preserve its range” ## Bilgi | Özellik | Değer | |---------|-------| | **Kategori** | haber | | **Yayın Tarihi** | 2023-05-20 | | **Güncelleme** | 2026-03-02 | | **Kaynak** | [Üsküdar Haber Ajansı](https://uha.com.tr/prof-dr-nevzat-tarhan-mind-should-work-to-develop-not-preserve-range) | ## Özet **Prof. Dr. Nevzat Tarhan delivered important messages to young people on the occasion of May 19 Commemoration of Atatürk, Youth and Sports Day. Tarhan noted that May 19 being gifted to young people is a significant indicator of vision, and he emphasized the importance of having societal ideals. Young people should not work only for themselves, said Tarhan, adding, “My young friends should have ideals related to the societies they live in, not just personal ones. A person's capacity and strength are equal to their effort and endeavor. If their strength, endeavor, and effort are for the society they live in, or for humanity, they will accomplish equally great deeds. The main ideal should be to raise a robust generation. Instead of building buildings, we need to focus on raising a robust generation,” he said. Tarhan also stated that the mind should be made to work to develop, not to preserve its range, and that those who focus on what they can do without imagining what could be a vision will become second-tier individuals. ** ## İçerik ![](https://cdn.uha.com.tr/content/images/prof-dr-nevzat-tarhan-230520114010.jpg) Üsküdar Üniversitesi Founding Rector Prof. Dr. Nevzat Tarhan stated that it is crucial to ensure young people, who have the capacity to embrace innovation and build the future, look at life with a new vision. “The gifting of this holiday to youth and its commemoration as Atatürk Commemoration and Youth Day is actually an indicator of a serious vision. There is a saying, 'A society that guides its youth toward the good, the right, and the beautiful has guided its future toward the good, the right, and the beautiful.' The main ideal is to raise a robust generation,” he said. ## **We need to make our minds work towards developing the range, not just preserving it…** Psychiatrist Prof. Dr. Nevzat Tarhan pointed out that conflicts between generations have always existed, even in ancient Egyptian papyri and Hittite tablets. “This is normal, but those who are status quo-oriented cannot understand it. In a certain generation, those who are not status quo-oriented understand youth better, set better examples, and guide them,” he said. Tarhan continued: “For example, there is a saying by Hz. Ali, ‘Raise your children not according to the age you live in, but according to the age they will live in.’ This is a tremendous foresight. We need to raise children this way and prepare ourselves for it. Human beings do not deviate from what they are accustomed to in order not to disturb their comfort. If one sees oneself as successful and sufficient, one constantly operates their mind to preserve the status quo. However, we live in an age of reason; at such a time, we need to make our minds work towards developing the range, not just preserving it. Status quo personalities, after a while, acquire an anachronistic mind, which is chronologically impaired. They are physically present, but their minds live in a past era. Anachronistic people remain stuck in childhood; they never want to grow up. It is necessary to bid farewell to childhood, to bid farewell to youth, and to grow up in this manner. They cannot do this,” he said. ## **Let's not go 'all or nothing'** Prof. Dr. Nevzat Tarhan also touched upon the difficulties experienced during the establishment of the Republic, criticizing the approach that disregarded the Ottoman Empire. Tarhan said, “We need to acknowledge the Ottoman Empire with its pros and cons, bid farewell to it, and establish a new Republic. Since we do not agree, identity confusion persists in our conflict-ridden society. People from Erzurum have a saying, they call it ‘tulumcu,’ meaning ‘all or nothing,’ they say ‘either be like us’ or ‘be completely against me.’ These approaches are not suitable for this era, nor for human psychological or mental well-being. Because there isn't just black and white. There are also grey areas. The universe operates with such probabilities. Therefore, young people, let's not go 'all or nothing'. This is the perspective that founded the Republic. Let's see the pros and cons of the past, but let's look to the future, let's not get stuck in the past,” he stated. ## **When seeking truth, science offers methods** Tarhan stated that people can be easily persuaded through scientific robustness, “Mustafa Kemal says, ‘My spiritual heritage is reason and science.’ I think this is his most beautiful saying. He advocates for allegiance based on scientific evidence, not dogmatic adherence. This is capturing the truth of the era. That’s why it is accepted by young people. We need this today as well. Science offers methods; if you use these methods while searching for truth, you will proceed based on evidence. If you don't use them, it is said that you are only dogmatically committed, and it won't be convincing. We are in an age of scientific robustness. When you present scientific robustness, it becomes easy to persuade people. During the establishment of the Republic, action was taken with this vision; they disbanded the assembly in Istanbul and established the same one in Ankara, and vision was very important in this transition,” he stated. Tarhan stated that the dynamics of the Republic's foundation should be analyzed correctly, “Objective evaluations by historians, not ideological prejudices, will further increase our respect for the Republic. Therefore, having a solid historical consciousness means knowing one's own background and personality. All of us have strengths and weaknesses in our backgrounds. We have made mistakes. The important thing is to learn from mistakes and look to the future. For this reason, when we talk about May 19 Commemoration of Atatürk, Youth Day, it is important to look at the underlying dimension of meaning. We need to try to understand, and think about what he would do if he were alive today.” ## **A person's capacity and strength are equal to their effort and endeavor** Prof. Dr. Nevzat Tarhan, stating that the struggle between good and evil has continued since Hz. Adam, gave the following advice to young people: “My most important advice to young people in such a period is that they should not work only for themselves. They should have ideals related to the societies they live in, not just personal ones. A person's capacity and strength are equal to their effort and endeavor. If their effort and endeavor are for their own ego, it is limited. If their strength, endeavor, and effort are for the society they live in, or for humanity, they will accomplish equally great deeds. Therefore, their ideal should transcend us, it should be a transcendent ideal. Such ideals push young people to do bigger, more important global work. They will also have resolved their existential problems.” ## **Is there a greater factory than raising an idealistic, robust generation?** Tarhan, stating that a large part of the budget in developed countries is allocated to R&D, said, “Most of the budget goes towards issues related to youth, towards winning over youth. Is there a greater factory than raising an idealistic, robust generation? Is there a greater bridge? Or a road? Raising a robust generation is the main ideal. Instead of building buildings, we need to focus on raising a robust generation. For this to happen, a vision, mission, and values must certainly be determined in relation to it. Vision: A person imagining what they can be; mission: Focusing on what they can do. Therefore, if you focus on what you can do without imagining what could be a vision, you will only become a good second-tier person, a second man,” he said. ## **If you want to be a leader, you must define your vision** Tarhan defined the path to leadership for young people on the occasion of May 19 Youth and Sports Day: “If you want to be a leader, to surpass yourself, that is, if you want to be a person who leaves a mark in life, you must first define your vision. Vision includes an ego ideal and planning one’s future. Teamwork is necessary. Geniuses alone cannot succeed, but those who build teams can. Along with this, one must also have ethical values. Being sincere, heartfelt, natural, loving people, being honest, diligent, true to one's word, open and sharing… All of these are ethical values. Teamwork is the most important spirit of this era,” he said. ## **A person's only rival is themselves** Prof. Dr. Nevzat Tarhan concluded his remarks with further recommendations for young people to have a much better life: “In fact, a person's only rival is themselves. The laziness, sluggishness, and lack of vision within us are our rivals. Therefore, young people should not compare themselves with others, nor bother with other rivals at all. They should set a goal for themselves, compete with their own negative emotions, and overcome them. This is how they will reach their goal. Americans have a good saying; ‘No pain, no gain.’ That is, ‘if there's no struggle, pain, or hardship, there's no gain.’ Young people should not take the easy way out. There is a psychological law in life. Life gives its rewards to those who endure difficulties. Is there anything more beautiful than walking with your head held high, living honorably? For this, you will earn with your labor. No one should try to be a parasite. They should earn with their sweat. They will have a much better life.” ## Akademik Referans DOI: [https://doi.org/10.32739/uha.id.12582](https://doi.org/10.32739/uha.id.12582) --- *Kaynak: [Üsküdar Haber Ajansı](https://uha.com.tr) — https://uha.com.tr/prof-dr-nevzat-tarhan-mind-should-work-to-develop-not-preserve-range*