We abstract the idea of “male” from men, and also the idea of “female” from women. As with the idea of mother, the abstract idea of a man or father can be transferred to other things. The sky as the “universal father” is one of the most common religious ideas. When the sky is envisioned as the father, the earth is always its opposite pair, the mother. The two ideas always go together. Male contrasts with female; they only have meaning when they’re in this opposite pair. This is the essence of the “possible idea,” the archetype of male and female. It’s universal around the world, both as
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