The term "antagonist" is often found in descriptions of various films and series. It is understood as a negative hero - the one with whom the main character usually fights. But this definition is closer to the media and culture. Naturally, in scientific disciplines it is interpreted differently. What is antagonism? It is the answer to this question that has become the main theme of this article.
Terminology
A synonym for antagonism is often considered a contradiction. This is not entirely true, because this term is only one of its types. For example, the phrase "antagonistic contradiction" is permissible, and now this will already be a synonym for the word "antagonism". What does this mean? Usually, this term refers to a situation in which a dispute becomes irreconcilable. Antagonism is also translated not only as “dispute” but also as “struggle”, however, the key word here is just “intransigence”.
The reasons for the occurrence. Definition Options
Antagonism occurs when inconsistencies in opinions reach the point where they contradict each other. Efremova defined this concept as rivalry or a struggle of interests. But this is not entirely correct. Antagonism always means a collision without the ability to step aside.
Dahl, when writing his own definition, approached from a slightly different perspective: his definition is in some way similar to Newton’s famous law, under which every force has such a force that can resist it. And he came to the following conclusion about what antagonism is. That this is the same destructive force. That is why we return to what was written in the introduction, about how negative characters in various works are called antagonists.
But the importance of this article is not to consider this as part of art, but to reflect the point of view of science. That is why class antagonism as a form of social conflict is the subject of attention in the next paragraph.
Class conflicts
Class antagonism is closely linked to class struggle. Defining it is clearly difficult, since the very definition of the word "class" has several meanings. Nevertheless, one can precisely point out the following fact: class antagonism is clearly associated with intransigence and struggle, like the rest of the species. The hostile clash of social strata due to stratification, which takes place in any society, is the cause of class antagonism. It cannot be taken separately from the public. It arises as a result of the development of society and is a subspecies for such a concept as “social antagonism”. What is this will be discussed below.
The Consequences of Class Antagonism
The epic end of class antagonism is the social revolution, which occurs when the interests of the new and old class, obsolete traditions and modernized social attitudes clash "foreheads" and it is no longer possible to resolve the contradiction in a civilized way.
Social and legal contradictions
In sociology, there are three types of socio-legal contradictions, the first of which is antagonistic. It has a negatively destructive character, which means: hostility obviously leads to destruction.
Social antagonism is the predominance in the relationship of the orientation of one or both sides towards inequality. For example, class inequality (as in the previous paragraph), gender inequality, racism, discrimination by faith and religion, ageism (this is age discrimination), etc. One of the manifestations of social antagonism is thinking in the direction of its development. Social antagonistic thinking implies such an understanding of social relations as the dominance of one over the other, that is, the subordination of one to another. Social antagonism is also characterized by objectification (the perception of individual personalities as objects and others as their subjects).