paradox and why we can't just get along
Is the glass half empty or is the glass half full?
When the human intellect is faced with a paradox what generally happens is that the irreconcilable elements are reduced and seperated to their simplest essences. Then people vehemently choose one side and stick to it against all argument. This is called dualism.
I can think of a milliion instances of this occurance going back to prehistory. Take any controversial issue and you will see dualism there. Lets look at a few, black and white, jew and persian, male and female, pro-choice and pro-life, segregation and melting pot. etc.
Is the glass half empty or is the glass half full?
The Glass is half empty OR its half full Depending on how you look at it.
The reason for every ISM is the inability to resolve the paradox of same and different. Here are two contradictory statements that are both true, depending how you look at it.
(1) Everyone is unique and different.
(2) Everyone is the same
Everyone is a little bit different but we all have the same rights. We all have different experiences, but we all fall in love.
Some people will argue the two sides of this issue until there is either a shouting match or people sulking all over the place.
Take race, gender, disability, ethnicity, and religion. We see someone in a turban and say they are different therefore they must be inferior to us. A racist person doesn't say, "we are different skinned but we have the same worth." They can't resolve the paradox of Same/Different. In race issues there used to be two opposing camps, the segregationists and the Melting Potters. Neither group could resolve the issue of race. segregationists said, "blacks and whites are different and there is no resolution." The melting pot theorists, said, "there is no race its all one big melting pot, we are all brown." Making too much of race is just as much of a proplem as ignoring it all together. Its a paradox. Some liberal genius resolved the paradox and came up with the idea of racial diversity. Racial diversity completely embraces that there are differences in races and that this does not mean they are not equal. It resolves the paradox by embracing it.
Take any issue and break it down this way - for instance.
Is there male and female, or no male or female?
There is male and female OR there is no male or female depending on how you look at it.
When it comes to protecting rights and political authority there is no gender at all.
When it comes to helping a transgendered person undergo a sex change there most certainly is gender. Give a person the benefit of the doubt, if they say the are female but developed male secondary sex characteristics give them a sex change without diagnosing them as having "Gender Identity Disorder."
When in doubt,let compassion be your guide.
When the human intellect is faced with a paradox what generally happens is that the irreconcilable elements are reduced and seperated to their simplest essences. Then people vehemently choose one side and stick to it against all argument. This is called dualism.
I can think of a milliion instances of this occurance going back to prehistory. Take any controversial issue and you will see dualism there. Lets look at a few, black and white, jew and persian, male and female, pro-choice and pro-life, segregation and melting pot. etc.
Is the glass half empty or is the glass half full?
The Glass is half empty OR its half full Depending on how you look at it.
The reason for every ISM is the inability to resolve the paradox of same and different. Here are two contradictory statements that are both true, depending how you look at it.
(1) Everyone is unique and different.
(2) Everyone is the same
Everyone is a little bit different but we all have the same rights. We all have different experiences, but we all fall in love.
Some people will argue the two sides of this issue until there is either a shouting match or people sulking all over the place.
Take race, gender, disability, ethnicity, and religion. We see someone in a turban and say they are different therefore they must be inferior to us. A racist person doesn't say, "we are different skinned but we have the same worth." They can't resolve the paradox of Same/Different. In race issues there used to be two opposing camps, the segregationists and the Melting Potters. Neither group could resolve the issue of race. segregationists said, "blacks and whites are different and there is no resolution." The melting pot theorists, said, "there is no race its all one big melting pot, we are all brown." Making too much of race is just as much of a proplem as ignoring it all together. Its a paradox. Some liberal genius resolved the paradox and came up with the idea of racial diversity. Racial diversity completely embraces that there are differences in races and that this does not mean they are not equal. It resolves the paradox by embracing it.
Take any issue and break it down this way - for instance.
Is there male and female, or no male or female?
There is male and female OR there is no male or female depending on how you look at it.
When it comes to protecting rights and political authority there is no gender at all.
When it comes to helping a transgendered person undergo a sex change there most certainly is gender. Give a person the benefit of the doubt, if they say the are female but developed male secondary sex characteristics give them a sex change without diagnosing them as having "Gender Identity Disorder."
When in doubt,let compassion be your guide.