QUALITY
What are dichotomous qualities?
If “some have it and others don’t” then those characteristics (qualities) are dichotomously distributed (rather than evenly or equally distributed). There are a multitude of such characteristics: size, colour, shape, composition, operation, functionality, etc., etc., etc. It is on the basis of these characteristics that we distinguish between various entities and phenomena. In the case of composition, things that are made of different materials may be recognized as such and categorized accordingly through simple observation. In the case of a characteristic such as size however, since every physical entity will have some “size” then it becomes necessary to reify size into a series that ranges across the spectrum: small, medium and large, or finer grades if the need arises. In the case of other characteristics, some are interpretive rather than observational. Is a particular person congenial or contrary? Is a particular situation benevolent or malevolent? In both cases it depends on the indicators chosen to represent the characteristic, and on the interpretation of these indicators in context. With all of the above however, people do believe in and recognize qualitative differences, and base at least some of their behaviours on the attribution of such characteristics.
How are dichotomous qualities used?
People often find it convenient to group things into sets so that similar entities are considered together and dissimilar entities are considered apart. There are fruits, and there are vegetable; and then there are tomatoes, which may be consider either one depending on your classification. There are heroes, and there are villains, and there are bystanders; then there are heroes who are “really” villains, and villains who are “really” heroes, depending again on the characteristics we emphasize. On the one hand we have “the entire family of humanity” and on the other hand we have distinct groups based on their skin colour, blood type, language, location, ethnicity, religion, political affiliation, etc. To make these distinctions is to “discriminate,” that is to say, to differentiate based on some characteristic(s). From the methodological point of view, this is merely an exercise in taxonomy or typology. But the word also has negative connotations, whereby certain characteristics are evaluated adversely. Racism and Sexism are two of the negative forms of discrimination that are “officially” frowned upon.
Why does it matter if we dichotomize characteristics and people into different groups? Because we may then behave towards them differently, in ways that may disrespect their status or deny them the same rights that others enjoy. But this concern cuts both ways – by recognizing when such discrimination exists, it may be possible to take steps to alleviate it. Unfortunately hard and fast rules may aggravate such problems rather than solve them. We always need to decide, on a case-by-case basis, when such dichotomies are helpful, and when they are hurtful.
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