However, partners must also be different from each other in order to sustain autonomous identities.Ĭontradictory phenomena are yoked together at the same time that they negate one another. Partners must be similar to some extent in order to establish and sustain a common bond. For example, marriages require both similarities and differences between the partners. For example, we understand what "night" means only because we have a concept of "day." With interactive unity, the opposing phenomena are united in practice or in function as part of the same interacting system. The unity of identity is semantic or definitional unity. Interdependence can take two basic forms, which Irwin Altman and his colleagues (1981) referred to as the unity of identity and interactive unity. Opposites are unified if they are in some way interdependent. Barbara Montgomery (1993) has identified three kinds of oppositions: (1) oppositions that are mutually exclusive and exhaustive (e.g., openness versus non-openness) (2) oppositions that are mutual exclusive but not exhaustive (e.g., connection versus autonomy) and (3) oppositions that are complementary (e.g., dominance versus submissiveness). Three terms are important in understanding this definition: opposites, unified, and dynamic interplay.Ĭentral to the notion of opposition is mutual negation: Semantically, opposites are the antonyms of one another and function to nullify, cancel, undo, or otherwise undermine one another. A contradiction is the dynamic interplay between unified opposites. The central concept of dialectical theorists is the contradiction. This entry emphasizes the common features. Like any family, the various dialectical approaches share some features in common yet differ in others. Social dialectics is not a single theory but a family of theories (Montgomery and Baxter 1998). The fundamental assumption of social dialectical theorists is that all relationships-friendships, romantic relationships, family relationships-are interwoven with multiple contradictions.
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