If someone tries to tell you that there are just two kinds of people in this world, don't believe them. Whatever those "two kinds" may be, they are almost always just two extremes of a range of possibilities. There is only one kind of person, although we come in different models, styles, shapes and sizes. Any character trait has is opposite, but almost everyone falls somewhere in between. All traits of personalities are potentially present in each of us to some degree. Every genius is part idiot; every idiot is part genius.
There are two ways of looking at anything. They are:
Binary: Either this or that (much the same as either this or not-this)
e.g.. He is a bad man. They are friendly people. She is not a welder. Turn the radio off.
Analog: this compared to or in relation to that; or, more or less of this or that
e..g. Ryan is younger than Michelle. This stew needs more salt. Turn the radio down.
Binary thinking is oppositional and divisive Analog thinking is relational & integrative.
Many characteristics, especially aspects of human personalities, are not yes or no, on or off sorts of things. They cannot be represented in a definite, binary way, e.g. "good guy" or "bad guy," but comparatively, as a degree, fraction, percentage or proportion. The proportion is usually varying at that, depending upon circumstances or moods. So on the good/bad scale or any other measure of character such as introverted/extroverted or considerate/selfish, the assessment always ranges somewhere between no and yes; not definitely one or the other, but somewhere in between. Those "two kinds of people" are both found within each and every one of us.
This error of binary thinking occurs not only with regard to personality. It applies to our observations of the physical world as well. We tend to describe the physical world digitally as having fixed properties, but what happens in the world is life itself, which is relational, creative and intentional, and changes everything. The "solid" stuff is only that which life has built for itself somewhere along the line. Yet we tend to favor looking at everything in a digital, rigid way. In fact, we tend to build our institutions and societies that way, and it usually leads to compartmentalization, segregation, exclusion and conflict.
Logical thinking is binary. It proceeds sequentially and digitally. But there is another kind of thinking which the contemporary world, in its over-reliance upon science as its primary learning tool, tends to ignore or even reject. Unlike science, it is not based on logic but on relation, analogy and metaphor. Our judgments of other people's character are best arrived at this way. So are our understandings of what other people are trying to tell us. Language itself is symbolic and metaphorical, and developed personally and individually, so the images in the speaker's mind are all but certain not to be identical to those in the hearer's mind.
The binary thinker, the computer-minded, left-brained person, can 'see' only one side at a time. The analog visionary, on the other hand, envisions not just one side but both or all sides, the facets and edges as well as the substance, allowing for fuller and deeper thinking.
We need to develop the habit of seeing from both - or all - sides, to find the truth that always lies somewhere in the middle.
For example, consider the two statements, "Do unto others as you would have them do unto you," and "Love your neighbour as you love yourself."
The sentiment is exactly the same, but the words and resulting images are not, and mean different things to different people.
But the sentiment is the same. If you use your right brain, you see the symbolism rather than thinking about the words. See the symbolism first, then think about the words.
But first, see the symbolism.
Try it now, for a few minutes.
Okay, now go and do unto your neighbour with love.
(originally posted on 01/13/2018)
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