 | This article or section appears to contradict itself on the definition of ethical dualism, and use two different definitions as if they are the same. The examples in religion reflect the definition that there are sources of good and evil, and not the definition that some people are purely good and others are purely evil. (May 2020) |
Ethical dualism (from ancient Greek ἔθος (o ἦθος), ethos, "character", "custom", and Latin duo, "two")[1] refers to the practice of imputing evil entirely and exclusively to a specific group of people, while disregarding or denying one's own capacity to commit evil.
The consequence of such stance is the creation of an "Us" versus "Them", thereby polarizing social configurations into extremes in a way that mutual understanding between the two "poles" is made very difficult or impossible, since the "Them", the "Other", is demonized, dehumanized.
In other words, ethical dualism basically pictures the existence of two mutually hostile entities, the one representing the origin of all Good and the other of all Evil.[2]