The Psychology of Stereotyping and Categorization
It is narrated—with the yaa’ in the first name being dammed—on the authority of the Greek philosopher Heraclitus, who said: “You cannot step into the same river twice.” The point is that the flow of water in the river makes it constantly changing. And with this change that affects the river and you, the river remains one and the same, just as you remain yourself. This is the meaning of stability within change, and change within stability.
From this perspective, Heraclitus is considered the grandfather of skepticism, for we both exist and do not exist, since decay creeps into us at every moment of our lives.
In simpler terms: nothing in this universe is fixed; everything changes. The nature of life is based on movement, and this is something we must all understand.
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The flaw in most of us, if not all of us, is that we store in our minds an idea, or several ideas, about a group or an individual, and we analyze their actions and words based on that pre-existing mental stock. This applies to us when it comes to groups and peoples, although the affliction of the individual among us is holding a fixed, preconceived judgment of the other. Generalization in judgment is a sign of ignorance.
Yes; generalization, especially permanent generalization, is the language of the ignorant. The meaning is that genetic or ready-made, pre-conceived classification contradicts the nature of a sound human being, and indeed contradicts the nature of the universe itself. Therefore, we must analyze every statement or action of any person without relying entirely on what we, or someone else, have placed in our minds regarding them.
A human being is in a different state every day; in fact, you will sometimes find them within a single day like the sea—ebb and flow, calm and turbulence.
Permanent, fixed classification of the individual and the group is both an error and a danger simultaneously.
The lesson is: anticipating change in every person is obligatory; because this anticipation allows us to identify the expected change and address it immediately, thereby ensuring the accuracy of our judgments at all times.
Let us expect every person to change their thoughts, behavior, or even principles, with an open heart and flexible mind, because we cannot mold a human being—place them in a rigid mold—for their entire life; they are a collection of feelings and ideas that influence and are influenced.
Nor can you accept the idea of molding literary texts; the text is one and fixed, but its interpretation differs, or at least it should.
And the statement by one that a human being cannot be other than themselves is wrong, as they can change negatively or positively, becoming new in mind and soul.
If we agree on this, we will undermine the foundation of our thinking, which is judging events, people, or even peoples based on inherited, pre-conceived thought that has taken hold in our minds and become fixed, thereby disabling our ability to analyze events, discover their essence, and identify what is new.
Evidence for this is that most of us do not detect changes in the street where we live and pass through every day, because we enter it with the assumption that we know everything about it, and consequently, we fail to detect or discover any changes that have occurred, whether major or minor.
There is no way to salvation except by accustoming ourselves to enter discussions, dialogues, or studies with a fresh heart and a fresh mind. The affliction of discussion or study is pre-judgments, pre-conceived notions, and seeing people as we wish to see them.
We must accept human change and appreciate their attempt to escape the categorization imposed on them by others; because their change, whether negative or positive, is closer to actual reality.
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For often, a human being transforms from one opposite to another without necessarily losing their existence or identity. In fact, existence is the point where opposites converge, and for this reason, it is impossible to describe a living human being with permanent characteristics.
It is wrong to fill our minds with preconceived notions about someone—whether derived from a book, newspaper, or video, or conveyed by another person who likes or dislikes them, or even by the individual themselves in a previous stage of their long life—and to judge them based on those initial impressions throughout their entire lives. We must correct this error immediately. A person may hold certain ideas and opinions while simultaneously being capable of changing them; this is permissible and even acceptable, provided that the individual remains committed to what they say. I mean, as long as the change results from personal enlightenment and intellectual maturity, rather than from external pressure or coercion imposed upon oneself. More to follow.
A Palestinian journalist
