Black-and-white dualism

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The Last Judgement by Viktor Vasnetsov. Strashnyi sud.jpg
The Last Judgement by Viktor Vasnetsov.

The contrast of white and black (light and darkness, day and night) has a long tradition of metaphorical usage, traceable to the Ancient Near East, and explicitly in the Pythagorean Table of Opposites . In Western culture as well as in Confucianism, the contrast symbolizes the moral dichotomy of good and evil.

Contents

Description

Day, light, and good are often linked together, in opposition to night, darkness, and evil. These contrasting metaphors may go back as far as human history, and appear in many cultures, including both the ancient Chinese and the ancient Persians. The philosophy of neoplatonism is strongly imbued with the metaphor of goodness as light. [1]

Examples

Religion and mythology

Dress

Magic

Other examples

See also

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References

  1. 1 2 Rudolf Arnheim. (1974). Art and visual perception. Univ of California Press. "The Symbolism of Light" (pp. 324-5)
  2. The Encyclopedia Americana: A Library of Universal Knowledge. Encyclopedia Americana Corp. 1918. p.  329.
  3. Bailey, Alice A. A Treatise on White Magic New York: 1934 Lucis Publishing Co.
  4. "Orphaned Land - Music from the promised land - Interviews - Metalrage.com". www.metalrage.com. Retrieved 2023-12-06.