A dichotomy is any splitting of a whole into exactly two non-overlapping parts.

In other words, it is a bipartition of elements. In Mathematics, a partition of a set X is a division of X into non-overlapping " parts " or " blocks " i. e. nothing can belong simultaneously to both parts, and everything must belong to one part or the other. They are often contrasting and spoken of as "opposites. "

Contents 1 Etymology 2 Uses of dichotomy 3 See also 4 External link

Etymology

The term comes from the Greek dichotomia (divided): dich- (form of dícha, in two, asunder); tomia- a combining form meaning cutting, incision, excision of an object.

Uses of dichotomy

• The above applies directly when the term is used in mathematics, philosophy or linguistics. Mathematics is the body of Knowledge and Academic discipline that studies such concepts as Quantity, Structure, Space and Philosophy is the study of general problems concerning matters such as existence knowledge truth beauty justice validity mind and language Linguistics is the scientific study of Language, encompassing a number of sub-fields For example, if there is a concept A, and it is split into parts B and not-B, then the parts form a dichotomy: they are mutually exclusive, since no part of B is contained in not-B and vice-versa, and they are jointly exhaustive, since they cover all of A, and together again give A.
• A false dichotomy is a logical fallacy consisting of a supposed dichotomy which fails one or both of the conditions: it is not jointly exhaustive or not mutually exclusive. The Informal fallacy of false dilemma (also called false Dichotomy, the either-or fallacy, or bifurcation) involves a situation in A fallacy is a component of an Argument which being demonstrably flawed in its Logic or form renders the argument invalid in whole In its most common form, two entities are presented as if they are exhaustive, when in fact other alternatives are possible. In some cases, they may be presented as if they are mutually exclusive although there is a broad middle ground (see also undistributed middle). The fallacy of the undistributed middle is a Logical fallacy that is committed when the Middle term in a Categorical syllogism isn't distributed
• Dichotomies are common in Western thought. C.P. Snow believes that Western society has become an argument culture (The Two Cultures). Charles Percy Snow Baron Snow CBE ( 15 October 1905 &ndash 1 July 1980) was an English Physicist and Novelist The Two Cultures is the title of an influential 1959 Rede Lecture by British scientist and novelist C In The Argument Culture (1998), Deborah Tannen suggests that the dialogue of Western culture is characterized by a warlike atmosphere in which the winning side has truth (like a trophy). Deborah Frances Tannen (born June 7, 1945) is an American Professor of Linguistics at Georgetown University In such a dialogue, the middle alternatives are virtually ignored.
• In economics, the classical dichotomy is the division between the real side of the economy and the monetary side. In Macroeconomics, the classical dichotomy refers to the idea that real and nominal variables can be analyzed separately According to the classical dichotomy, changes in monetary variables do not affect real values as output, employment, and the real interest rate. Money is therefore neutral in the sense that it cannot affect these real variables.
• In set theory, a dichotomous relation R is such that either aRb, bRa or both.
• In biology, a dichotomy is a division of organisms into two groups, typically based on a characteristic present in one group and absent in the other. Foundations of modern biology There are five unifying principles Such dichotomies are used as part of the process of identifying species, as part of a dichotomous key, which asks a series of questions, each of which narrows down the set of organisms. In Biology a single-access key (also called "sequential key" "analytical key" or "pathway key" is an Identification key where the sequence and A well known dichotomy is the question "does it have a backbone?", used to divide species into vertebrates and invertebrates. Vertebrates are members of the Subphylum Vertebrata, Chordates with backbones or spinal columns The grouping sometimes includes An invertebrate is an Animal lacking a Vertebral column. The group includes 98% of all animal Species — all animals except those in the Chordate
• In botany, a dichotomy is a mode of branching by repeated bifurcation. Botany, plant science(s, phytology, or plant biology is a branch of Biology and is the scientific study of plant Life Thus a focus on branching rather than division.
• In computer science, more specifically programming language engineering, the term dichotomy is used to denote fundamental dualities in a language's design. Computer science (or computing science) is the study and the Science of the theoretical foundations of Information and Computation and their For instance, C++ has a dichotomy in its memory model (heap versus stack), whereas Java has a dichotomy in its type system (references versus primitive data types).
• In the anthropologic field of theology and in philosophy, dichotomy is the belief that humans consist of a soul and a body. Theology is the study of a god or the gods from a religious perspective Philosophy is the study of general problems concerning matters such as existence knowledge truth beauty justice validity mind and language (See Mind-body dichotomy) This stands in contrast to trichotomy. The mind-body Dichotomy is the view that " mental " phenomena are in some respects "non- physical " (distinct from the Body
• Dichotomy is also a method of execution wherein the victim is cut in two.
• Divine Dichotomy as mentioned in the Conversations With God series of books by religious author Neale Donald Walsch. Conversations with God (CwG is a sequence of nine books written by Neale Donald Walsch, written as a dialogue in which Walsch asks questions and God answers Neale Donald Walsch (also known as Neale Marshall-Walsch (b September 10, 1943 in Milwaukee) is an American author of the series
• In sociology dichotomies are the subject of attention because they may form the basis to divisions and inequality. Sociology (from Latin: socius "companion" and the suffix -ology "the study of" from Greek λόγος lógos "knowledge" For example, the Domestic-public dichotomy divides men's and women's roles in a society, which may cause inequalities between the two. Domestic-public dichotomy refers to the divisions between men's roles and women's roles in life Some social scientists attempt to deconstruct dichotomies in order to address the divisions and inequalities they create: for instance Judith Butler's deconstruction of the gender-dichotomy and Val Plumwood's deconstruction of the human-environment dichotomy. Deconstruction is a term used in Philosophy, Literary criticism, and the Social sciences, popularised through its usage by Jacques Derrida in Judith Butler (born February 24, 1956) is an American Post-structuralist philosopher who has contributed to the fields of Feminism Gender comprises a range of differences between men and women extending from the biological to the social Val Plumwood ( 11 August 1939 – c 28 February 2008) formerly Val Routley, was an Australian ecofeminist intellectual The social environment (context, also known as the Milieu, is the identical or similar Social positions and Social roles as a whole that influence the individuals
• The I Ching and taijitu represent the yin yang theories of traditional Chinese culture. The I Ching ( Wade-Giles) or “Yì Jīng” ( Pinyin) also called “Classic of Changes” or “Book of Changes” is one of the oldest of the In Chinese philosophy, the concept of yin and yang ( is used to describe how seemingly opposing forces are bound together intertwined and interdependent in the The Culture of China (traditional Chinese 中國文化 simplified Chinese 中国文化 is home to one of the world's oldest and most complex Civilizations covering a history

See also

• Binary opposition
• Bipartite (disambiguation)
• Dualism
• Dichotomy paradox
• Polychotomy
• Trichotomy
• Class (set theory)

External link

• Dichotomy analysis

In Critical theory, a binary opposition (also binary system) is a pair of theoretical opposites Dualism denotes a state of two parts The word's origin is the Latin duo, "two". A polytomy (also called a polychotomy) is a section of a Phylogeny in which the Evolutionary relationships can not be fully resolved to dichotomies In Set theory and its applications throughout Mathematics, a class is a collection of sets (or sometimes other mathematical objects that can be unambiguously

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