rattus rattus’ blog

If one thinks there are people who (should) bear a certain amount of responsibility for what they do and what they do not, that is, if one believes to know who to accuse, then, indeed, there is guilt.

A little list of lies, um, I mean, dichotomies. Just some that I had to deal with recently:

ache – comfort | analog – digital | analysis – synthesis | animal – human | art – kitsch | ask – reply | at least – at most | avoidance – devotion | BDSM – vanilla sex | beautiful – ugly | because – why | being – inexistence | black – white | blind – sighted | box – content – cover | cheap – expensive | coffee – tea | cold – warm | colored – plain | construction – destruction | continuous – discrete | crazy, mad – sane | criticism – praise | cut – glue | dark – light | dated – recent | day – night | denial – agreement | dichotomy – warrant | dynamic – static | early – late | East – West | ecology – economy | element – system – environment | expert – layperson | far – close | fast – slow | find – lose | finite – infinite | foreigner – native | freedom – slavery | friend – fiend | front – back | full – empty | funny – sober | global – local | god – human being | good – bad | green – red – blue – black | guilty – innocent | handicapped – unhindered – healthy | handmade – manufactured | happy – sad | healthy – sick | heaven – earth | heavy – light | help – damage | homosexual – straight | honest – deceiving | independent – tributary | interesting – boring | justified – random | knowledge – ignorance | left – right | liar – liar | life – death | light – shadow | linear – non-linear | list – pile | long – short | loud – silent | love – hate | maybe – sure | mind – body | modification – conservation | natural – artificial | nature – nurture | negation – affirmation | nonsense – sense | once – twice | one – many | one way – anyway | open – closed | opponent – supporter | order – chaos | part – whole | past – presence – future | political – apolitical | polyamory – monogamy | popular – elitist | positive – negative | preserver – dominator | prose – poetry | question – answer | reason – aim | relative – absolute | religious – unbelieving – atheistic | responsible – irresponsible | revolution – evolution | rich – poor | right – wrong | riddle – advice | science – public | serious music – popular music | sexual intercourse – petting | silence – noise | simple – complex | small – big | smoker – nonsmoker | some – all – none | stagnation – variation | strong – weak | subject – object | sustainable – wasteful | synonym – antonym | talking – mute | thick – thin | time – space | top – bottom | torturer – victim | town – country | truth – lie | unemployed – employee | up – down | warrant – ruination | word – picture | yes – no | young – old | zero – one | 6/8 – 4/4

If you look closely you may find at least twice as many, maybe more. Anyway, if you ask me (but don’t you): Avoid dichotomies for they are lies.

Craftsmen use tools. Tools such as knives, pincers, forceps, scissors, and levers and hammers, of course. Liars are using tools, too. One of them are dichotomies. Just as there are many forms of knives there are many forms of dichotomies. Luckily, for us liars.
So, this is my revelation. I present you my secret list of liars’ tools:

Synonyms for dichotomy

bisection, criticism, cutting in two, decision, dichotomization, discernment, discrimination, discussion, distinction (to distinguish), division, intersection, sectioning, secretion, separation

So much for synonyms from an etymological point of view. Here is a list of synonyms from a modern day point of view:

analysis, bifurcation, branching, being twofold, categorization, classification, compartmentalization, consciousness, definition, departure, detachment, determination, deviation, difference, discipline, dislikeness, disparity, dispute, dissimilarity, divergence, diversion, divorce, duality, forking, grouping, inequality, isolation, particularization, parting, partitioning, polarization, science, seclusion, segregation, taxonomy, termination, unlikeness, unsimilarity

Enough for more than a liar. Yet, there are also some closely following, related terms:

arrangement, assortment, contradiction, disagreement, discrepancy, hierarchy, order, set, sorting, …

Antonyms for dichotomy

alliance, bind, combination, connection, glue, hedging, joint, likeness, saving, similarity, synthesis, system, unification, whole

Note how most of these “antonyms” can only react to a dichotomy, and others are missing accompanying words that describe an action, such as wholing, wholement or wholination. In some way, they are antonyms, but they were not if it wasn’t for dichotomization. There are no antonyms for dichotomy itself, as there cannot be any antonym for something that contradicts itself.

Watch out for dichotomies. Dichotomies are lies.

But don’t forget: Language is deceiving.
By the way, deception is a form of dichotomization.

Here is a little reward for still being with me: Etymologically seen, I know of two families of words that magically try to overcome the paradox of dichotomy: Words derived from the stem war(a)– of which only a few are left; awareness, warrant, and the German wahren (to conserve, to care) being the most well-known. The other family gathers around the stem fri– which meant “(your) own, (be)loved, proper” (sometimes written as “pri-“). I know of three words which are derived from it: free, friend, and German Frieden (peace).

It just hit my liar’s forehead that the phrase “To err is human” is an example for a variation of the liar’s paradox. But it’s true, isn’t it? ;-)

Maybe, the trick here is that we have already stopped seeing ourselves as humans. Erringly. Anyway, I should write it on my forehead. Then, at least others can read it.

You know, bloggers are humans, too. Most of them. Most of the time.

In case you are in need of de-dichotomization get yourself a De-Dichotomy Stamp, too.

Don’t even mention dichotomies!
Those who speak of dichotomies are none but liars.
Forgive them their dichotomies for they know not what they do.

Dichotomies have roots.