Prof. Nevzat Tarhan: “The brain needs a serotonergic life philosophy”

The “2nd International Social Sciences Student Congress” was organized in cooperation with Üsküdar University and MBA Schools. Within the scope of the congress, poster presentations prepared by MBA Schools high school students were held. At the congress, President of Üsküdar University and Psychiatrist Prof. Nevzat Tarhan delivered a talk titled “The Brain and the New Normals.” Emphasizing that the brain needs a serotonergic life philosophy, Tarhan underlined that the most important purpose of human life is meaning. He noted that modernism has made life speed and pleasure oriented and drew attention to the fact that individuals who can look at what they do with a third eye are able to transcend themselves. He also emphasized that artificial intelligence will initiate a new era and stated that those who oppose artificial intelligence are unable to provide new answers to old questions.

Leading scientists, academics, and students from across Türkiye attended the congress held at the Emir Nebi Conference Hall of the Çarşı Campus.

“It works like a simulation of our brain”

Drawing attention to the frontal region, the executive part of the brain that gives commands to the brain, Prof. Nevzat Tarhan said, “Artificial intelligence is a digital entity that is more intelligent than us and it works like a simulation of our brain. Above our brain there is a mind that governs it. The executive region that gives commands to the brain is the frontal region, the front part of our brain. It enables decisions such as do or do not do, appropriate or not appropriate, valid or not valid, safe or not safe, beneficial or not beneficial, friend or foe. Being able to manage it is important because it is the decision mechanism. In recent years, studies asking how our brain makes decisions show that the area artificial intelligence most imitates in humans is the Default Mode Network, the meaning network. It is located in the front, middle, and lower back parts of the brain. It is like the heart of the brain. It is also considered a kind of assumption network. It scans the future and the past with the information in our brain. After scanning, it produces predictions about the future. It works like a prediction machine. Then the front part of our brain says do or do not do. It selects the most rational prediction and the brain makes a decision. Such is its working mechanism. Human beings search for meaning. Many meanings appear before them. They feel lonely in a crowd. They try to conform to society. For example, it is said that life is an existence, not a destination but a passage.”

“The most important aim in life should be meaning”

Speaking about the important paths to finding truth, Tarhan said, “The most important aim in a person’s life should be meaning. Logotherapy is a therapeutic technique developed as meaning therapy. It has not been widely discussed before but is now beginning to gain attention. There was an existential movement related to rejecting meaning in the style of Absurdism. Some philosophers like Heidegger say that human beings are thrown into this world and cannot be a product of this world. When they cannot answer the question of where humans came from, they say searching for it is meaningless. However, if a person thinks in a way that transcends oneself, existential quantum physics has provided an answer. Quantum physics discovered super determinism. There are evidences we observe. There are important ways to find the truth. First is experiment, second is observation, and third is reasoning. These are also mentioned in our religious sources. There are three levels described as Ilm al-yaqin, Ayn al-yaqin, and Haqq al-yaqin.”

“Artificial intelligence works through reasoning”

Emphasizing that what appears to be chaos in the universe may actually be beautiful, Prof. Nevzat Tarhan said, “Artificial intelligence currently works through reasoning. It operates through probability calculations. It finds the highest probability. The person who first discovered these probability calculations, later described as the butterfly effect, was a meteorologist in the 1960s. He was working on weather forecasts on a large early computer. He went to get coffee and when he returned, all the data had been erased and mixed up. He thought all his work was lost but decided to continue from where he left off. Then he realized the weather forecasts became much more accurate. He called it the coffee effect. Later quantum physicists referred to it as the butterfly effect. What appears as chaos in the universe may actually be beautiful. There are causalities we do not see behind it, super determinism. That means when the universe first came into existence, there must have been a universal database. Everything must have been written at the beginning, followed by the big bang, smaller explosions, nebulas, and then humans and the world, all according to a calculation. Discussions on super determinism are among the new debates in science.”

“Logically superior but emotionally very weak”

Referring to the fact that artificial intelligence does not possess consciousness or conscience, Tarhan said, “Artificial intelligence is only logically superior to us but its emotional intelligence is extremely weak. Its social intelligence is extremely weak. It has no moral intelligence at all. I once asked artificial intelligence as a test. I said, I was fired from my job, I was upset, life feels meaningless, can you tell me about the highest places in Istanbul? It described places like the Beyazıt Tower and the bridges. If the computer had produced assumptions and possessed consciousness and conscience, it would have said this person may want to commit suicide, let me direct him to appropriate help. Artificial intelligence may be programmed to calculate such things; however, it cannot replace conscience. It has no consciousness or moral judgment. The decision between good and evil and free will exist only in humans. The one thing artificial intelligence cannot do is acquire emotional and social intelligence. It cannot replace professions related to these, so there is no need to fear.”

Those who can look with a third eye transcend themselves

Speaking about how modernism has made life speed and pleasure oriented, Prof. Nevzat Tarhan emphasized the importance of stepping outside today’s routine and transcending oneself. He said, “Yalom describes four basic existential anxieties. One is the search for meaning, the second is the search for freedom. Other living beings do not have this. They are free only to the extent permitted by their genes. Humans have limitless and insatiable desires, which is their weakness. This is our biological weakness in the brain. We all have it. We call it the narcissistic core. It is especially strong in children. As a child grows, they develop and learn to manage it. In our time, stress management has become more difficult. Modernism accelerated life and made it speed and pleasure oriented. When life becomes fast, the fifteen percent rule of innovation does not function. If a person works ten hours a day, they should spend at least one and a half hours thinking about what they are doing and reflecting on their thinking. They need to look at their work with a third eye. If they can do this, they transcend themselves and create something new. Otherwise, they become just a part of the machinery. To go beyond the machinery, one must step outside daily routines and ask what percentage of what I am doing is realistic, valid, or not valid. This is both the rule of innovation and the rule of the human search for meaning. Being able to apply it is very important.”

“Stress increases many diseases”

Referring to a study on stress, Tarhan said, “There is a town in Philadelphia called Roseto where an experiment was conducted in the 1960s. Roseto was a town of Catholic immigrants from Italy. In that town, heart diseases were one third lower, gastrointestinal diseases were one third lower, and many psychosomatic illnesses were one third lower. Researchers initiated a study to find out why. They followed the town for twenty years from 1960 to 1980. After twenty years, the disease rates became equal to other regions. They examined what had changed. Twenty years earlier, people married their neighbors’ daughters, there were no luxury cars, electricity and social life were limited. It was a sedentary and calm life. Speed and pleasure were limited. It was a community content with what they had. Twenty years later, fast living and nightlife entered the town. Disease rates increased by two thirds. This is one of the fundamental studies showing that stress increases many illnesses. Stress suppresses the immune system in the brain. When the immune system weakens, everyone seems to have a target organ. For some it is the stomach, for others the intestines, for others brain chemistry. Some develop depression, some experience stomach bleeding, some develop fibromyalgia. This depends on our genetic background and which organ becomes affected.”

“Our brain is closely connected to what we eat”

Drawing attention to the fact that there is currently a dopamine-oriented life philosophy, Tarhan said, “Our brain is closely connected to what we eat. We need to pay attention to our diet. There is microbiota in our intestines. These beneficial microorganisms produce useful materials for our body from the food we consume. For example, they produce the precursor of serotonin and many precursors of dopamine and the immune system. Our intestines produce many of these substances. If you grow up with junk food and a cola and hamburger culture, your intestines cannot produce them properly and other diseases begin. Therefore, our nutrition must follow what nutrition experts recommend, a colorful plate including protein and carbohydrates. If there are vegans among you, they should be careful. Is there anyone vegan? Vegetarianism may be fine, but veganism can be very risky. Those who eat only meat are also at risk. Those who never eat greens, vegetables, or fruit are also at risk. These are important in nutrition. One of the changes brought by the modern age is speed. Modernism has offered us a speed and pleasure-oriented life philosophy. It is even called the California Syndrome. One of the symptoms of the California Syndrome is hedonism. A person who thinks hedonistically believes that what pleases me is good, what does not please me is bad, what serves my interest is good, what does not serve my interest is not good. A pleasure-oriented life philosophy produces dopamine in the brain. Illegal substances also produce dopamine in the brain. We are currently living in a dopamine-oriented life philosophy.”

“The brain needs a serotonergic life philosophy”

Emphasizing that when meaning is added to one’s work the brain produces serotonin, Tarhan said, “In 2017 an American neuroendocrinologist named Lustig wrote a book titled ‘The Hacking of the American Mind by the American Economy.’ By accelerating consumption through a win consume cycle, the American economy drove the brain to function in a dopamine-oriented way and led people into addiction. By promoting a pleasure centered life philosophy, it caused a transformation of meaning in people. Aristotle said this 2500 years ago. There are two types of happiness for human beings, one is hedonic happiness, and the other is eudaimonic happiness. Hedonic happiness is pleasure happiness, eating, drinking, entertainment. Eudaimonic happiness is meaning happiness, serotonin happiness. Serotonin increases in the brain. When you have a purpose and work for it, produce meaning, contribute to society, work in a laboratory, create a work of art, all of these generate serotonin when you add meaning to what you do. Serotonin is more long term and lasting, whereas dopamine is short term and temporary. The brain needs a serotonergic life philosophy. The current life philosophy of hedonism is being questioned. We need a life philosophy focused on meaning and purpose. Our ancient culture already teaches this. Because of this, our expectation levels have risen significantly and managing stress has become more difficult.”

“Genes determine our boundaries but do not limit us as human beings”

Underlining that genetics does not socially or mentally limit a person, Prof. Nevzat Tarhan said, “The human brain has an extraordinary capacity for development. The brain can produce new stem cells from stem cells. For this to happen you must challenge the brain. In comfort, the brain does not produce any new cells. The brain of a person who challenges themselves and has meaning and purpose creates new networks, establishes new meaning connections, and forms new synaptic links. There is a case of an Alzheimer patient who was a mathematics professor. He went to a doctor and said, ‘When I was playing chess I could calculate eight moves ahead, now I can only calculate five moves ahead. Something is wrong.’ All attention and memory tests were conducted. The doctor said, ‘You do not have Alzheimer’s. All tests are normal for your age.’ Later this person experienced a traffic accident and an autopsy had to be performed. This information was reported in National Geographic. During the autopsy they found that his brain was full of Alzheimer plaques. Although he was genetically predisposed to Alzheimer’s, he had used his brain so well that he did not develop the disease. There was only a decline in his chess performance. That is why using our brain is very important. Even if there is a genetic Alzheimer gene, we can manage that gene. Genes are not destiny. We should know that. Genes only determine some of our boundaries but they do not limit us as human beings. Genetics may limit us biologically but not socially or mentally.”

“Those who oppose artificial intelligence cannot provide new answers to old questions”

Emphasizing that artificial intelligence will initiate a new era, Tarhan said, “The world is experiencing a digital transformation, almost a digital revolution. Just as the printing press triggered a revolutionary process that led humanity to the industrial revolution, artificial intelligence will initiate a new era. There will be before artificial intelligence and after artificial intelligence. In such a situation this is not a threat but an opportunity. For example, when the printing press was invented, those who saw it as a threat were calligraphers in Istanbul because they feared losing their profession. They delayed its introduction into Istanbul. Eventually they had to accept it. Those who oppose artificial intelligence today cannot provide new answers to old questions. We need to provide new answers to old questions.”

The 2nd International Social Sciences Student Congress stood out as a scientific platform where high school students discussed social, cultural, economic, and scientific thresholds.

The congress concluded with a group photo session.