Concept in Definition ABC
Miscellanea / / July 04, 2021
A dichotomy is the division into two parts of a thing, or failing that, it is a set or system that is subject to bipartition, and that generally oppose each other.
Division into two parts of something
“Investigators will face the difficult dichotomy between fulfilling their duty by investigating one of their own and leaving aside the emotional ties consolidated within the force.”
Opposition is one of the substantial ingredients of this concept.
The opposites pose absolutely different questions that do not coincide.
The dichotomous situation is very present in the life of human beings and in the most diverse spheres we find ourselves faced with situations that propose two alternatives that are mutually exclusive; and what is also common is that it is sometimes difficult to choose one or the other.
Mostly, the dichotomy is a phenomenon that will imply the separation into two parts of a certain question, although this implicitly implies the property of exclusion mutual between the parties that were separated as a consequence of the dichotomous phenomenon.
That is, at the request of a event that implies dichotomy, we will only find two alternatives, of which only one will have a reason for being, since they cannot coexist, for example, win or lose, or failing that, coexist two proposals that from the ideological point of view are absolutely contrary.
Application in politics
The dichotomous approach is widely used at the request of the politics, especially in those political regimes in which they seek to generate opposition in order to enhance their power, that is, they increase their authority and power over the division that they know how to create in society.
At the urging of populisms, this is a reality that occurs very frequently, because it is necessary, yes or yes, to achieve adhesions, to create a enemy to attribute all the evils that happen and also to blame when something cannot be done, even if it is not done simply because it is not wanted, but what is sought is to make people believe that it is not done because the political enemy prevents it with various tricks.
Normally the argument of you are with me or you are with the other who is obviously against me.
In this way, the polarization of the public opinion, make him choose between two opposing options, but you can never be on both sides, you have to choose ...
The concept is usually applied as a synonym for other very popular ones such as division and duality.
Although the use mentioned above is the most widespread that the word dichotomy presents, there are also other uses of the word.
Astronomy: what a planet looks like when illuminated by half sunlight
On Astronomy dichotomy is called what a planet looks like when illuminated by exactly half the sunlight. Now, from the ground only one illuminated semicircle can be seen, while the other half remains in shadow.
On the other hand, it is said that the Moon is in dichotomy when it is in the first or last quarter, which is the same as saying, waxing or waning.
Botany: branch that is divided into two equal
Meanwhile in Botany, the use of the word dichotomy is also recurrent, since in that way the phenomenon related to a type of branching, in which each branch will be successively divided into two equivalents, in such a way that a fork of equal branches will be produced.
Topics in Dichotomy