Manichaeism, Dichotomies and the Poverty of 2×2 matrices
Growth vs Fixed (mindsets)
Good vs Evil
Communism vs Capitalism
1s and 0s
Black vs White
Either-or
Left or Right
Right or Wrong
Collective vs Individual
Democrat vs Republican
National vs Labour
Strengths vs Weaknesses
and so on
and so forth…..
There is a certain irony in Manichaeism being the religion of Ancient Persia (now Iran) and modern Manichaeism being the religion of the US (with us or against us, for example). But I digress….
There is also a poverty of intellect in splitting everything into either-or categories when the richness comes from finding the “spun version” of the negative (thanks to @Matt Church for the framework).
For example:
Stated Negative: Communism
Positive Opposite: Capitalism
Spun Version: Democratic Socialism
Stated Negative: Fixed (mindset)
Positive Opposite: Growth
Spun Version: Ratchet
Stated Negative: Wrong
Positive Opposite: Right
Spun Version: Learning Opportunity
How would your interactions be different if you were to focus on the spun versions of perceived negatives? Might they give an opening for conversation?
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Sunday Thoughts is a weekly series of sometimes incomplete thought pieces to stimulate thinking, and possibly annoy you.