My list of some dichotomies is missing the delicate discretion of women versus men, though it is always good enough for some humor; one that can be found elsewhere but I AM … NOT‘s place is so much more exciting since I AM … NOT refuses to hate me; probably because he believes rattus to be male though she is not. Anyway, I AM … NOT, listen up! You could at least lie to me.
Check that your criterions are bleeding edge. Be conscious about what you are doing. Define your science. Analyze your methods. Discuss the results, but draw clear distinctions. Exert precision.
Go ahead, take the scissors. Make sure your knifes are sharp. Be careful not to cut yourself, though. And, beware of dichotomies. Cut through them. Eventually, consider philosophy of science. Cut the scissors.
Please, do not hurt anyone. Yes, this includes yourself.
If I say I am not a liar and I am, well then I am a liar. If I say I am a liar and I am not, well then I am a liar. How can anyone tell if I am a liar or not?
What is your answer?
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).
