The
logical fallacy of
false dilemma—also known as
false dichotomy,
falsified dilemma,
fallacy of the excluded middle,
black and white thinking,
false correlative,
either/or fallacy and
bifurcation—involves a situation in which two alternative points of view are held to be the only options, when in reality there exist one or more other options which have not been considered. The two alternatives presented are often, though not always, the two extreme points on some
spectrum. Instead of such extreme simplification and
wishful thinking, considering the whole spectrum, as in
fuzzy logic, may be more appropriate.
The false dilemma fallacy refers to misuse of the
or operator. For another misuse of "or", see the
false choice fallacy. For misuse of the
and operator, see
package-deal fallacy.
A false dilemma may not necessarily be limited to two choices; it may involve three possibilities, in which case it is known as a
trifurcation, or more, in which case the dilemma may be more the result of accidental omission than deliberate intent.
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[edit] Examples
"Mark is late for work. Either his car has broken down, or he has overslept. We telephoned and learned he isn't at home, so his car must have broken down." This argument is a false dilemma, because there are many other reasons why Mark may have been late for work (he might have decided to quit his job unannounced, he might have been arrested for traffic offences, he might have died, and so on). If it were somehow proven that there were no other possibilities than those presented in the initial dichotomy, then the logic would be sound. But until then, the argument is fallacious.
False dilemmas are also common in
politics. They are often hidden in
rhetorical questions, and then become akin to the
fallacy of many questions, as in:
Will you re-elect the ruling party, or face nuclear holocaust? Are you with us, or with the forces of racism and oppression? Are you a Republican or are you a Democrat? ...or they can be done as statements of fact:
My opponent voted against the public schools spending bill. He must think educating our children is not important. Nobody wins unless everybody wins. In our seeking for economic and political progress, we all go up - or else we all go down. Violent gangs are running amok on the streets. Therefore, we must increase police enforcement or let them run loose. If you're not first you're last.
[edit] Legal implications
During legal battles in the
creation-evolution controversy in the
United States, the dichotomy between
creationism and the theory of
evolution has been noted as another instance of false dilemma and also termed a
contrived dualism.
See, for example, the
2005 opinion in
Kitzmiller v. Dover Area School District, where Judge
John E. Jones III writes "ID (
intelligent design) is at bottom premised upon a false dichotomy, namely, that to the extent evolutionary theory is discredited, ID is confirmed. (5:41 (Pennock)). This argument is not brought to this Court anew, and in fact, the same argument, termed “contrived dualism” in McLean, was employed by creationists in the 1980's to support “creation science.” The court in McLean noted the “fallacious pedagogy of the two model approach” and that “
n efforts to establish ‘evidence’ in support of creation science, the defendants relied upon the same false premise as the two model approach . . . all evidence which criticized evolutionary theory was proof in support of creation science.”
