Editing Binary opposition (section)

{{Short description|Pair of related terms or concepts that are opposite in meaning}}
A '''binary opposition''' (also '''binary system''') is a pair of related terms or concepts that are opposite in meaning. Binary opposition is the system of language and/or thought by which two theoretical opposites are strictly defined and set off against one another.<ref>{{cite journal |last=Smith |first=G. |year=1996 |title=Binary opposition and sexual power in Paradise Lost |journal=Midwest Quarterly |volume=27 |issue=4 |page=383 }}</ref> It is the contrast between two mutually exclusive terms, such as on and off, up and down, left and right.<ref name="Baldick"/> Binary opposition is an important concept of [[structuralism]], which sees such distinctions as fundamental to all language and thought.<ref name="Baldick">Baldick, C 2004. The concise Oxford Dictionary of literary terms, </ref> In [[structuralism]], a binary opposition is seen as a fundamental organizer of human philosophy, culture, and language.

Binary opposition originated in Saussurean structuralist theory.<ref name="Fogarty">Fogarty, S 2005, The literary encyclopedia, viewed 12 October 2024, https://www.litencyc.com/php/stopics.php?rec=true&UID=122</ref> 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 in reciprocal determination with another term, as in binary code. For instance, 'hot' gains meaning because of its relation to 'cold,' and ''[[vice versa]]''. It is not a contradictory relation but a structural, complementary one.<ref name="Fogarty"/> Saussure demonstrated that a sign's meaning is derived from its context ([[Syntagma (linguistics)|syntagmatic]] dimension) and the group ([[paradigm]]) to which it belongs.<ref>Lacey, N 2000, Narrative and Genre, p.64, Palgrave, New York.</ref> An example of this is that one cannot conceive of 'good' if we do not understand 'evil'.<ref>Lacey, N 2000, Narrative and Genre, p. 65, Palgrave, New York</ref>

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.<ref>{{Harvnb|Goody|1977|p=36}}</ref> Furthermore, Pieter Fourie discovered that binary oppositions have a deeper or second level of binaries that help to reinforce meaning. As an example, the concepts ''hero'' and ''villain'' involve secondary binaries: good/bad, handsome/ugly, liked/disliked, and so on.<ref>{{cite book|last=Fourie|first=Pieter|title=Media Studies Volume 2: Content, Audiences and Production|year=2001|publisher=Juta Education|location=Lansdowne}}</ref>