It Matters: The Yin-Yang

       Toward the end of our reading of Jane Eyre, we briefly discussed  how the success of Jane's relationship with Rochester could be explained by the principles of the Yin-Yang. Jane emerged from her experiences at the Moor House more independent and self-actualized, whereas Mr. Rochester's blindness had forced him to retract his authoritarian air and accept dependence on another human being. Thus they became closer to equals, with neither yielding to or exercising mastery over the other; rather, they became a whole entity through embodying aspects of each other.

       The theory behind the Yin-Yang holds that each side of it holds a part of the opposite side because qualities constantly become each other in a cyclical process, partially comparable to Hegel's dialectics.  No quality ever exists in its absolute state, but may achieve temporary dominance.  However, when a large imbalance occurs between elements, Chinese traditional medicine cites this the cause of illness. The Yellow Emperor of the Han dynasty argued that if the Yang, or male force, was excessive and strong, one would face repeated exposure to heat, which would damage the spirit and lead to severe pain. If the female force, or Yin, was too strong, one would become excessively cold, which would cause the body to swell and eventually injure the spirit. Either infirmity would lead to death if left untreated.

      In our modern era, the Yin-Yang is more commonly applied to the political or social aspects of our society, but still relates to modern medicine. In one sense, the "mental health" category of medicine can offer effective therapy to those who are depressed or only channel negative energy. Along with the principles of the Yin-Yang, such people sometimes undergo trauma or pass through difficult times that escalate their negative emotions, and opt for help when at the peak of discontent, so health issues don't emerge or they don't take their own lives.  Hopefully this help facilitates their fundamentally feeling the "opposite" of before, while still recognizing their negative emotions as a part of them. However, on the flip side, modern medicine also enables psychiatrists to prescribe medication to people suffering from grave mental disorders and further delay constructive methods of psychological treatment in favor of temporary alleviation of symptoms. 

      In the political field, diversity between opposing agendas and moral standards has been said to have positively impacted our society. Psychologist Jonathan Haidt argues that through embodying ideas that fundamentally deviate from our own, such as with party doctrines, we can "cultivate moral humility." This is important because it is crucial to interpersonal understanding and cooperation. In his New York Times Op-Ed article, David Brooks describes that "For decades, people tried to devise a rigorous “scientific” system to analyze behavior that would be divorced from morality. But if cooperation permeates our nature, then so does morality, and there is no escaping ethics, emotion and religion in our quest to understand who we are and how we got this way." Hence, it becomes clear that the process by which our behavior has been analyzed can be characterized by the Yin-Yang; it has shifted from traditional thought, to scientific, systematic evaluation, and now to a system where science is predominant but more conscious of humanitarian aspects of our development. In totality, however, the fact that psychologists and behavior analysts are embracing the principles of the Yin-Yang, consciously or not, and its presence in Jane Eyre and even relationships today, shows that its teachings are still universal and pertinent, though the traditional internal and medical applications of the Yin-Yang did not heavily spread to the Western world.