REWIRING YOUR BRAIN FOR HAPPINESS

Until recently, scientists believed that the brain would not change after puberty. However, with the use of new technologies in medicine, recent findings indicate that this is not true.It also shows that the brain  can change and evolve throughout  life.Acording to experts,the human brain can stretch and has just as much flexibility and adaptability as  plastic. This quality is named neuroplasticity by scientists.When a new habit, a new emotion, a new skill or a new thought is used, a new connection in the brain is formed.When they differ, a different connection is established in the brain. Thanks to neuroplasticity , reorganization of the brain takes place. However, can people use this for happiness?

To begin with,deciding to approach an issue more carefully is known to be  the primary way to rewire a person's brain for happiness.People generally forget how wonderful their lives really are.Many people are unaware that they have the freedom to choose whether they  want to focus on negative or positive experiences in their lives. Besides, many of them tend to have short-lived experiences of pleasure and extended experiences of pain. In order to be  happy , people can make conscious  decisions and they should transform the selection into a habit; this/, which/and this/ requires effort and repetition . Additionally, they must be aware that they can overcome every problem because they are the product of negativity bias and are changeable. Moreover, they can keep a gratitude journal. It is a powerful way to help balance their negativity bias, and write  their selection and what they do to feel happier. In short, they must constantly remind themselves of the positive experiences of happiness.

Furthermore, one of the best ways to avoid negativity is to prepare a list of important positive experiences. People should resort to this list the moment they feel negative thoughts starting to cloud their minds. To exemplify, people can focus on the love and the compassion of their peers. Another point is that , the brain is powerful and creative .The effect of  negativity bias  may be decreased by using visualization. For instance, each time people experience something negative   , they might visualize  drinking a hot a cup of tea on  Everest for example. Briefly, only making a conscious decision and applying it is enough to achieve happiness.

 To sum up, with  firm focus and enough repetition, the imagined behavior, way of thinking and skill  can be achieved by reorganizing the brain. As a result, the choice is in your brain. Use it or lose it.

BURAK ÖZÇİFÇİ

MARRIAGE VERSUS COHABITATION

Families are the smallest social unit of society and have existed, in various forms, ever since people first started living in settled communities. The decision to spend one’s life together with someone else and start a family is not one to be taken lightly so it is often formalized in a social, legal and / or religious ceremony. This ensures stability, peace and order in society. In the modern world, there are many who feel it is unnecessary to adhere to age the old rules of marriage and who feel that a promise made to a partner is sufficient to make the union binding. Such people feel marriage is a private union and does not concern the state or the Church. Although many people prefer going down the official route and formalize their marriage in the eyes of the law, there is, in fact very little difference between marriage and cohabitation. As a result, it is up to the couple which path they decide to take.

The decision to spend the rest of your life with someone and share everything with him/her is a tough one. Prospective partners may come from very different family backgrounds, may move in very different social circles and may have varying hobbies and interests. This being the case, the chances the marriage will not work are high and divorce a real possibility. Thus, is it wise to tie oneself up in a lot of legal red tape? Is it not better to keep things informal, make each other a promise and stick to it? Does it really matter if marriage vows are witnessed by the state and/or the clergy? Looking at it this way, it is obviously more practical to have a trial period at least to see how things go and then formalize the union at a later date should it be felt necessary to do so.

Cohabitation has often been strongly opposed by major religions and the state on moral grounds in the case of the former, and on practical terms in the case of the latter. Major religions wish to preserve monogamy to maintain law and order in society and prevent moral degeneration. The fear of eternal damnation is thought to be the best way to encourage monogamy and thus prevent debauchery. Yet is instilling fear really the best way to preserve moral integrity; would it not be better for people to uphold accepted moral values in society because they wish to? Assuming that the decision to live together outside marriage automatically leads to depravity is a false argument and completely nonsensical. As for the state, what is practical for the state may not necessarily be right to people who wish to cohabit. Thankfully, this fact has now been accepted in developed countries where the laws are rapidly catching up with social trends. The tax and inheritance laws that are valid for married couples are now valid for cohabiting couples too. The same is true for the status of children. The stigma attached to cohabitation is now a thing of the past in most developed countries.  

To conclude, whether cohabitation can be an alternative for marriage or not is a very tired topic that needs to be shelved. Society has moved on in most parts of the world, and demands have changed. There is no going back so in the words of Bob Dylan, those who disagree “should not block up the hallways” and should “move out of the way”.

IS TORTURE JUSTIFIED?

  There are various interrogation techniques to retrieve the requested information. One of them is torture, which  is the severe infliction of emotional and physical pain or suffering, and it is done to get compliance from an individual whether it is to get a confession, admission, and information or not. According to UN laws,  torture is the only crime that every state must punish, no matter who commits it or where. It is argued that torture is justified because it is a necessary technique to achieve requested goals whereas the others think that torture is unacceptable in any case since it is inhumane and degrading treatment.

  

    Firstly,  proponents of torture claim that information can matter a lot, which leads soldiers or the police to feel they have a right to torture when they suspect an individual of breaking the laws. People advocating torture think that torture is an advanced interrogation technique that is far more effective than others, and the information can be easily extracted from individuals. However, opponents of torture argue that in fact, torture is not guaranteed to be useful in producing accurate information since people will say or admit anything to avoid being  tortured, so the information they provide is unreliable anyway.

  

    Lastly,  proponents of torture assert that in case of emergencies, torture should be implemented to preserve public peace and security. For instance, if a person becomes a threat to public safety, he or she should be immediately arrested, so that officials can effortlessly learn what they want to do in society via various methods of torture like water boarding, mock executions, and so forth. Nevertheless, nobody has the right to deliberately harm other human beings with the intention of causing  physical and emotional pain although they  have committed a major crime because people who undergo  torture are adversely affected  by the experience throughout their whole lives. This is also a crime, and there isn't a person who deserves brutal torture in the world.

  In conclusion, whether torture is justified or not is a controversial issue because of a variety of clashing views. However, when it is considered from a humanitarian point of view, it does serious harm to people, and no  government has  a right to restrict people's right to life. Torture is not a  solution to anything. Accordingly, torture should never be practiced for any reason.