EMPATİ VE DİĞERKÂMLIĞA MEVLÂNÂCA BAKIŞ

Abstract

Many concepts introduced in modern psychology have been handled from a Western perspective and these concepts have become increasingly important in social psychology and human relations. However, in recent years, due to developments such as the prevalence of culture-based psychology approaches and the increasing importance of the psychology of religion and spirituality, different interpretations of the concepts of psychology have begun to be seen. Many studies have been conducted on empathy, which is described as the magic word in psychology, and altruism, which has recently been seen as prosocial behavior. Psychologists such as Freud, Adler and Skinner, who consider human beings as selfish beings, have argued that a selfish person cannot do unrequited favors and therefore there is no room for real altruism in human life. Psychologists such as Jung, Erikson and Maslow, who have a more optimistic approach to human beings, have pointed out that prosocial behavior is one of the higher level behaviors that exist in human potential. In Turkish Islamic Sufism, which is centered on the Qur’an and Hadiths, empathy is always included and altruism is expressed with the concept of infak and isâr in the Qur’an. Mevlânâ Celaleddin Rumi, one of the important names of Turkish Islamic Sufism, included stories about both empathy and altruism in many couplets, especially in his Mesnevi, and emphasized the use of these two concepts as indispensable, especially in human relations.

Keywords

• psychology
• psychology of religion
• empathy
• altruism
• mevlânâ