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In critical theory, a binary opposition (also binary system) is a pair of related terms or concepts that are opposite in meaning. Binary opposition is the system by which, in language and thought, two theoretical opposites are strictly defined and set off against one another.[1] It is the contrast between two mutually exclusive terms, such as on and off, up and down, left and right.[2] Binary opposition is an important concept of structuralism, which sees such distinctions as fundamental to all language and thought [3] In structuralism, a binary opposition is seen as a fundamental organizer of human philosophy, culture, and language. In the community of philosophers and scholars, most believe that, as Derrida put it, "unless a distinction can be made rigorous and precise it isn't really a distinction."[4]
Binary opposition originated in Saussurean structuralist theory.[5] According to Ferdinand de Saussure, the binary opposition is the means by which the units of language have value or meaning; each unit is defined against what it is not.[6] Saussure demonstrated that a sign's meaning is derived from its context (syntagmatic dimension) and the group (paradigm) to which it belongs.[7] An example of this is that one cannot conceive of 'good' if we do not understand 'evil'.[8] In post-structuralism, it is seen as one of several influential characteristics or tendencies of Western and Western-derived thought,[citation needed] and that typically, one of the two opposites assumes a role of dominance over the other. The categorization of binary oppositions is "often value-laden and ethnocentric", with an illusory order and superficial meaning.[9]
A classic example of a binary opposition is[citation needed] the presence-absence dichotomy. In much of Western thought, including structuralism, distinguishing between presence and absence, viewed as polar opposites, is a fundamental element of thought in many cultures. In addition, according[citation needed] to post-structuralist criticisms, presence occupies a position of dominance in Western thought over absence, because absence is traditionally seen as what you get when you take away presence. (Had absence been dominant, presence might have most naturally been seen as what you get when you take away an absence.) It has been maintained that the human brain has a preference for binary oppositions, if this is so it will help explain the numerous pairs of related antonyms that are found such as hot and cold, right and wrong and good and bad[10]
Essentially the concept of the binary opposition is[citation needed] prompted by the Western tendency to organise everything into a hierarchal structure; terms and concepts are related to positives and negatives with no apparent leeway for deviation for example man and woman, black and white.[11] Therefore many binary oppositions are organised in a hierarchy.[12] According to Jacques Derrida,[citation needed] meaning in the West is defined in terms of binary oppositions, “a violent hierarchy†where “one of the two terms governs the other.†Within the white/ black binary opposition in the West, the African American is defined as a devalued other.[13]
The concept of binary oppositions is[citation needed] also evident in biblical thought and ideology. An[citation needed] explanatory combination of biblical verses in the scrolls turn a term of divine compassion into a measure of binary opposition—innocence versus guilt.[12]
A more concrete example of a binary opposition is the male-female dichotomy. Some[citation needed] western thinkers, including structuralists, believe that the world is organized according to male and female constructs, roles, words, and ideas. A post-structuralist view is[citation needed] that male can be seen, according to traditional Western thought, as dominant over female because male is the presence of a phallus, while the vagina is an absence or loss. (Alternatively, Western thought could have viewed female as a presence, and male, subordinately, as the absence, or loss, of an invagination or theoretical "hole" of some kind.) The correspondence between each of the dominant Western concepts such as presence and male, as well as others such as rational (vs. emotional), mind (vs. body), thoughts and speech (vs. writings) are claimed to show a tendency of Western thought called logocentrism or phallogocentrism.[14][page needed] John Searle has suggested that the concept of binary oppositions—as taught and practiced by postmodernists and poststructuralist—is specious and lacking in rigor.[15]
[edit]Deconstruction of Western binaries
The political (rather than analytic or conceptual) critique of binary oppositions is[citation needed] an important part of third wave feminism, post-colonialism, post-anarchism, and critical race theory, which argue[citation needed] that the perceived binary dichotomy between man/woman, civilized/savage, and caucasian/non-caucasian have perpetuated and legitimized Western power structures favoring "civilized white men." In the last fifteen years it has become[citation needed] routine for many social and/or historical analysis to address the variables of gender, class, sexuality, race and ethnicity.[16] Within each of these categories there is usually an unequal[citation needed] binary opposition: bourgeoisie/ working class man; white/people of colour; men/women; heterosexual/homosexual[17]
Post-structural criticism of binary oppositions is[citation needed] not simply the reversal of the opposition, but its deconstruction, which is[citation needed] described as apolitical—that is, not intrinsically favoring one arm of a binary opposition over the other. Deconstruction is[citation needed] the "event" or "moment" at which a binary opposition is thought to contradict itself, and undermine its own authority.[18]
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