Yin and Yang, black and white, good and evil … sure we’ve all heard of this theory, but why is it associated with people’s personalities? Does it have a scientific basis ? We are going to know its meaning and history in depth.

The Yin Yang Theory

The Yin Yang theory has its origin in the ancient Chinese culture, it represents the belief that the entire universe is made up of two forces that are opposite but at the same time complement each other. It is a symbol that represents the harmony that is the result of the balance produced by the interaction of the two energies.

This element is part of the philosophical current of Taoism, religion and a system of thought originating in China that is based on the ideas of the philosopher Laozi ; It is characterized by believing that there is solidarity and balance between man and nature, since both agree and complement each other perfectly.

It is very important to note that it is not a scientific theory, but a framework of thought. Although this framework of thought is more than 5,000 years old, Yin Yang has been incorporated into Western culture and New Age beliefs in recent decades.

According to the Yin Yang theory, everything that exists is constant and at the same time cyclical. That is, when one force dominates, it is then replaced by the opposite. This activity continues and repeats itself over time. According to this current, this is the way we can understand the universe and the universal psychology of humans.

As we know, the Yin Yang symbol, also known as the Taiqi or Chi Tai symbol, consists of a circle equally divided into two sections, one white and one black, by an S in reverse. Inside each section we find a circle of the opposite color. Each of the aspects of the Yin Yang has a specific meaning. Yang is associated with lightand the sun; It is the white area, in turn it represents masculinity, dominance, the difficult, the strong, the hot, the light, the movement, the logic, the active. The Yin would be associated with the dark part, the black area, the moon and the darkness, it is associated with the feminine part, the passive, the intuition, the cold, the stillness, the downward movement, the night. These characteristics would be associated with the internal psychology of people, but the personality of an individual cannot be associated with a symbol.

The black and white areas together, as we have said, represent the interaction of the energies found in all the elements of the universe.

The small circles that we find in both sections show that nothing is absolute. In other words, in each of the opposing forces there is a little bit of the other. In all Yin there is a part of Yang and vice versa.

Some alternative therapies, without sufficient scientific basis, have used the idea of ​​Yin Yang as a theoretical basis in their practices, to affirm that they are feasible. In other words, as if Chinese philosophy guaranteed the value of certain therapeutic practices . In an attempt to associate this philosophy with psychology, it has been used to try to discover the personality and emotions of people, but psychology is scientifically based and relies on concrete solutions to specific problems.

The Yin Yang Theory in Psychology

It is true that traditional Chinese medicine uses this theory for the practice of certain healing activities, but it has not been shown that the theoretical basis on which these ideas were based were connected with the effectiveness of the treatment.

In China , the Yin Yang is used to try to know the personality of a person through the emotions that it represents that you were born in a Yin (odd) or Yang (even) year. So in ancient times it was believed that the Yin Yang aspect governed the qualities of a person.

Those born under the Yin months were thought to be calmer, more cautious, calm and thoughtful people than those born under Yang; dynamic, adventurous and enterprising.

According to this theory, people would have features of the two branches of the sign, only that one increases more than the other. Formerly they said that if the difference between these two energies was very great, the person could suffer an imbalance and become physically and emotionally ill.

The personality and emotions that flow in an individual are not due to the chance of being born in one month or another. Personality is the fruit of many factors. It is believed that one could be the genetic information acquired from our parents (biology), although it is still a doubt in psychology and not all schools endorse it. On the other hand, there are the customs, culture and society in which we live (social) and the experiences that we live and experience in our life. Therefore, although there is still a percentage of citizens who believe they find the answers to their emotions in pseudosciences , the scientific community does not endorse these beliefs.