Arab Cultural Club explores “Binary Oppositions in Human Thought”

In his introduction, Dr Mahmoud Bakri described binary opposition as “not merely a philosophical concept but the heartbeat of human thought itself, the bridge through which humanity understands and expresses the world. Without contrast, meaning cannot be born, and without conflict, thought cannot emerge.” He cited the famous line by Al-Mutanabbi, “By their opposites things are made clear”, to illustrate how contradiction reveals understanding.

Tracing duality across human civilisations

Drawing from her latest book, “Rhythmic Binary Opposition”, published by the Sharjah Department of Culture, Dr Samar Al Dayyoub examined how binary thinking has shaped human creativity in philosophy, literature, and science.

She explained that binary opposition is a cross-cultural phenomenon that underpins human reasoning and expression. The lecture examined how Eastern and Western cultures engage with the concept of opposites, from mythology to Derrida’s deconstruction, and from Al Jahiz and Al Jurjani to modern philosophy.

Dr Al Dayyoub explained binary opposition as “a philosophical term referring to pairs of contrasting concepts, such as good and evil, light and darkness, used to explain the universe and human thought.” She traced its philosophical origins from Pythagoras and Plato in Greece to yin and yang in ancient China, as well as the Hindu and Buddhist efforts to reconcile opposites, and the Zoroastrian and Manichaean contrasts between light and darkness.

In Arabic-Islamic philosophy, she observed, the concept appeared in the works of Al-Farabi, Ibn Sina, and Ibn Rushd, where opposites were examined as expressions of moral and cosmic harmony.

Duality in contemporary science and literature

The lecture also examined the manifestations of duality across physics, mathematics, and energy sciences, as well as in modern philosophy through thinkers like Hegel, Marx, and Derrida, and in linguistics and literary theory, from De Saussure to romanticism, structuralism, and deconstruction.

Dr Al Dayyoub emphasised that meaning arises from the tension between opposites, such as life and death, self and other, signifier and signified, concluding that thought itself only exists through its opposite.

Critical reflections and scholarly discussion

Dr Omar Abdulaziz also reflected on the lecture, praising Dr Al Dayyoub’s ability to navigate the complex and interdisciplinary landscape of binary thought, from philosophy to physics, linguistics, and music, describing her approach as both rigorous and poetic, capturing “the rhythm of existence in its visible and invisible forms.”