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What's a hero without a villian?

Not so long ago, I listed several binary oppositions; the purpose was to remember them as having come up many times in my studies.

Here's one more: Heros and Villians. 


The other day at work (feels good to be back at home doing this thing called 'work') my coworkers were discussing the show Heros. It got me thinking about every hero I had come to admire in my life, from the fictional ones like Jerry, Liono and He-Man, to the real ones like Mother Theresa, Gandhi and Mandela. The list is pretty long, but what stood out is that these heros championed causes, fought obstacles and stood their ground... against other actors.

In the case of Jerry, his opponent was Tom. For Liono it was any ally of Mumra, while for He-Man it was any ally of Skeletor. In real life, Mother Theresa fought poverty; Gandhi and Mandela both made substantial moves against inequality and injustice.

Can there be hereos without villians? If so, what would justify their existence, knowledge, and identity?

Generalizing these questions to wider binary oppositions, can one exist (at least as an independent idea) without the other? If the answer is yes, then why do the opposites still exist as ideas? If the answer is no - that is, binary oppositions cannot exist without one another - then what implications does this have on everyday actions? 
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