Dichotomous Thinking

Humanity is on the threshold of recognizing the fundamental error in its view of life and death. Both death as well as active life is necessary to the vital formation of a larger, more essential whole. In this paper, I apply the sociology of knowledge and change as it pertains to death and focus on ways in which we can step outside its traditional frameworks and limitations. I also discuss topics related to death such as birth, aging, sickness, and war, and examine cultural differences in attitudes toward death. I offer varying perspectives including the Buddhist view and from these draw implications and conclusions. I apply the lenses of contemporary social scientists such as Edgar Morin, Kenneth Gergen, Edward Stewart, Milton Bennett, Mary Catherine Bateson, E. Doyle McCarthy, Philip Slater, and Piotr Sztompka. To these I add other relevant passages from the writings and speeches of key thinkers on the topic of death, in particular, Buddhist philosopher, peacebuilder, and educator, Daisaku Ikeda. To construct a more humanistic and sustainable view of life, it is first of all crucial to establish a culture which perceives death in its larger living context as but one cycle in the expansive eternity of life.

1999) ‫الثنائي‬ ‫التفكير‬ ‫أسلوب‬ ‫و‬ ، Dichotomous Thinking Inventory DTI (Oshio, 2009) ‫على‬ ، 961 ‫المرحلة‬ ‫من‬ ً ‫طالبا‬ ‫اعمارهم‬ ‫متوسط‬ ‫الثانوية‬ 91 ‫سنة.‬ ‫أعلى‬ ‫ميل‬ ‫لديهم‬ ‫ا‬ ‫كانو‬ ‫الثانوية‬ ‫المرحلة‬ ‫طالب‬ ‫أن‬ ‫النتائج‬ ‫أظهرت‬ ‫وقد‬ ‫التفكير‬ ‫نحو‬ ‫المتوسط‬ ‫من‬ ‫أعلى‬ ‫ميال‬ ‫مستويات‬ ‫الطالب‬ ‫أظهر‬ ‫كما‬ ‫تجنبه،‬ ‫وعدم‬ ‫الجدل‬ ‫في‬ ‫الرغبة‬ ‫نحو‬ ‫المنفصلة.‬ ‫فة‬ ‫المعر‬ ‫نحو‬ ‫ميال‬ ‫أكثر‬ ‫ا‬ ‫وكانو‬ ‫الثنائي،‬ ‫التباين‬ ‫تحليل‬ ‫نتائج‬ ‫أظهرت‬ ‫كما‬ ANOVA ‫عندما‬ ‫أنه‬ ‫الطال‬ ‫سجل‬ ‫لخوض‬ ‫الميل‬ ‫في‬ ‫دالة‬ ‫وبدرجة‬ ‫عالية‬ ‫درجات‬ ‫ا‬ ‫سجلو‬ ‫المنفصلة‬ ‫المعرفة‬ ‫في‬ ‫عالية‬ ‫درجات‬ ‫ب‬ ‫في‬ ‫دالة‬ ‫وبدرجة‬ ‫عالية‬ ‫درجات‬ ‫ا‬ ‫سجلو‬ ‫المتصلة‬ ‫فة‬ ‫المعر‬ ‫في‬ ‫عالية‬ ‫درجات‬ ‫الطالب‬ ‫سجل‬ ‫وعندما‬ ‫الجدل،‬ ‫المسار‬ ‫تحليل‬ ‫أكد‬ ‫وقد‬ ‫الجدل.‬ ‫تجنب‬ Path Analysis ‫المعرفة‬ ‫أن‬ ‫التحليل‬ ‫أظهرت‬ ‫حيث‬ ‫النتيجة،‬ ‫هذه‬ ‫الجدل.‬ ‫لتجنب‬ ‫بالميل‬ ‫المتصلة‬ ‫فة‬ ‫المعر‬ ‫تنبأت‬ ‫حين‬ ‫في‬ ‫الجدل،‬ ‫خوض‬ ‫نحو‬ ‫بالميل‬ ‫تنبأت‬ ‫قد‬ ‫المنفصلة‬ ‫اإل‬ ‫ضوء‬ ‫في‬ ‫النتائج‬ ‫تفسير‬ ‫تم‬ ‫وقد‬ ‫السابقة‬ ‫اسات‬ ‫الدر‬ ‫و‬ ‫النظري‬ ‫طار‬ ‫و‬ ‫التوصيات‬ ‫بعض‬ ‫تقديم‬ . ‫مفتاحية‬ ‫كلمات‬ ‫الثنائي.‬ ‫التفكير‬ ‫المعرفة،‬ ‫طرق‬ ‫الجدل،‬ ‫في‬ ‫الرغبة‬ : ( ‫اهيم‬ ‫إبر‬ ‫أسامة‬ 3192 .) ‫الثنائي‬ ‫التفكير‬ ‫و‬ ‫فة‬ ‫المعر‬ ‫لطرق‬ ‫كمخرج‬ ‫الجدل‬ ‫في‬ ‫الرغبة‬ . ‫ان‬ ‫بأسو‬ ‫بية‬ ‫التر‬ ‫كلية‬ ‫مجلة‬ ‫العدد‬ ( 31 )

This article aims to develop some critical considerations over the US and Russian discursive representations of the Syrian conflict. What comes forth into view is the shared use of dichotomous ideological categories, here identified within the notion of “chess fallacy”, to classify the parties involved in the Syrian crisis. On one side, since the rise of the first riots in 2011, the US government has depicted the conflict as a clash between freedom and oppression. On the other side, the Russian Federation has described the war as a confrontation between the order ensured by a legitimate government against the chaos produced by the terrorist groups operating in Syria. This ideological schematization risks, however, to hinder any significant step toward a political resolution of the conflict. Unsurprisingly, the adoption of the UNSC Resolution 2254 was achieved only when both sides started to embrace a more moderate narrative to which, unfortunately, have not always followed coherent deeds in their field operations.