examples of duality

3 Easy to Understand Examples of Duality

The key to understanding how to have a better quality of life is understanding duality. Duality is the balance life has between different forces. Knowing three easy examples of duality will help you to understand the force checks and balances.

There are three easy examples of duality that will help you better understand how duality affects you and help you have a better life quality. The models presented below demonstrate three conflicts that humans encounter daily.

  1. Peace and War
  2. Love and Hate
  3. Up and Down

Once you understand these three easy examples of duality, you will have a better quality of life. Read on to learn more about duality and how you can identify them.

Article Topics

What is the concept of duality?

Duality is when two opposing parts conflict with each other. The two opposing forces are a series of checks and balances that demonstrate the choices people have. Once a person has identified one side of the force, they can understand the other in terms of what the first is not.

examples of duality - concept of duality

These two forces are typically classified together using standard terms that oppose each other. One force will not survive without the other, quite like an understanding of life vs. death. These two forces are opposite sides of the coin and can only be defined based on the other’s characteristics.

The only way a person can reach an understanding of both extremes is through spiritual duality and the knowledge of the terms. A person will only live life to the extremes until they can define the middle ground.

Duality can also be a technical term used in geometry and physics to explain interchangeable points and particle-wave theory. Both of which have a similar basis of the primary definition of the word.

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3 Easy to Understand Examples of Duality

Duality can be challenging to understand without examples. Each of the examples below explores the same concept and explains how the continuum of duality can be easily explored if you understand these fundamental examples.

1. Peace and War

Peace and war are on two different sides of the continuum, and both of them are reactions to an experience or situation. Both are reactionary and can cause repercussions from the decision people make to chose one from right or wrong.

Peace is a sense of calm and typically is seen as the calm after the storm. In comparison, war is seen as anger and aggression and acting on a problem. These two are two extremes on reacting to a situation, but they both respond to a situation. People can choose to be peaceful or create war.

If you understand this duality, you can maintain an even head and keep your view of the world while seeing these two reactions. The over-reactions causing people to move towards the extremes are without the understanding that you cannot have peace without war and vice versa.

To define what the other is, you need to know the characteristics of the opposite experience. This will help you to understand both extremes and keep on the central path.

The novel “War and Peace” demonstrates the conflict between unconscious and conscious motives and how it is complicated to equalize the two. These thoughts can be difficult to reconcile and are either at war or at peace with one another. Tolstoy’s novel tries to reconcile these two understandings but fails unfortunately in the main character.

examples of duality - Peace & War

2. Love and Hate

One of the perceptions is that love and hate are very close on the emotional spectrum. Under the duality continuum, they are on opposite sides. Love is a more pleasant positive emotion, whereas hate is perceived as a state of anger or loathing. Both of these are extreme reactions to someone or something.

People mainly rest in the middle of these two and are propelled to one of these two extremes based on the experiences they find themselves in. Indifference occurs when people find themselves in the middle of these two emotions. If you can define these two opposing forces, you can also find the middle ground of indifference.

The extremes presented by love and hate are given positive and negative connotations. If a person finds themselves viewing the perspectives in this way, they will struggle to find the middle ground when their lives are in turmoil.

They will never be able to reach contentment or the middle ground of these two. They will always swing one way or the other if they don’t understand the extremes.

examples of duality - Love & Hate

3. Up and Down

Up and down are two directions that mean opposite things. But you would not know what up is if you could not define what down is. These two opposites are defined in terms of each other, making them a prime example of duality.

There is an actual middle ground in the up and down continuum called the middle. Once you understand what up and down means, you will be able to understand the center. This is the most literal example of dualities. There is an identifiable middle where most people remain for most of the time.

If you understand the middle, you will be able to understand the purpose of duality. Reaching spiritual duality means a person will remain in this middle and keep them from falling to one extreme or another.

examples of duality - Up & Down

Other Common Questions on Duality are Answered Here!

There are a couple of different questions people have about duality. These are some common questions that people ask, answered just for you!

What Does the Duality of Man Mean?

The duality of man is to represent the ambivalent nature of a person. There are two sides to a human being: they can be evil and one to be good-natured. The choices they make determine which personality the person utilizes.

These personalities’ middle ground is maintained until a choice is made that determines one or the other. Robert Louis Stevenson’s “Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde” demonstrate the conflict between these two sides and the ability to be unaware of this duality. Once the duality is recognized, the person can choose the middle ground for their personality.

Since the dispositions in humans change over time, a person will swing through the continuum of emotions. But the extremes are established to understand the range of emotions and create an understanding of the middle ground.

What is The Opposite of Duality?

The opposite of duality is a sense of oneness. Duality focuses on the opposite ends of the spectrum, whereas oneness means the middle ground. The middle ground will be focused on an even keel without an inclination to one of the extreme forces.

When looking at a person, that would be indifferent emotions that mean not leaning to other feelings. A person can only reach a level of oneness if they can understand all of life’s dualities. They will be able to weather and understand life by seeing the perspectives and extremes presented by life.

Oneness is also a sense of collaboration between the two extremes. Aspects of both extremes are used to create an even keel. The center of the continuum is only understood when you understand the elements of the extremes that are being collaborated upon.

What is Duality in Psychology?

Duality in psychology is referred to as dualism. Dualism refers to the difference between the physical and the mental body. Psychology focuses on studying the brain and believes that there is a physical mind and subconscious mind. These two can act separately or together depending on the situation.

The difference between the subconscious mind and the physical reason is debated in the realm of psychology. The physical sense can impact the subconscious mind and vice versa. It can lead to changes in emotion and a fight between the mind and body.

duality-What-is-duality-in-psychology

To learn more about the subconscious mind learn how the subconscious mind works in that article!

The mind can rationalize thoughts which allows you to form conclusions. At the same time, the physical brain is in the body whether you are conscious or not. A couple of different types of dualism in psychology demonstrate the various thoughts about these two separate entities.

Substance dualism was brought up by Descartes and believes that the mind and body are separate. The two are connected by the pineal gland, according to this belief. It allows the brain to think when related but separate the body cannot think independently.

Predicate dualism is the idea that the mind creates language, and the body cannot create languages, only formulas. This means the reason defines the human existence and experience, but the body experiences them working together.

This debate between the mind and body as two separate entities is what dualism is in psychology. It is the study of trying to find the middle ground and understanding how the two operate together and apart.

Outro

Once you know the primary examples of dualism, you can begin to make sense of the world around you. Determining the middle ground of dualities is an essential aspect of life because it keeps you from churning into life’s running rapids. You can make sense of the world and understand the intricacies of different perspectives.