false dilemma

Definition:

A fallacy of oversimplification that offers a limited number of options (usually two) when in reality more options are available.

Examples and Observations:

• "A false dilemma arises when we allow ourselves to be convinced that we have to choose between two and only two mutually exclusive options, when that is untrue. Generally, when this rhetorical strategy is used, one of the options is unacceptable and repulsive, while the other is the one the manipulator wants us to choose. Whoever succumbs to this trap has thus made a choice that is forced, and as such, of little value. . . . Here are a few examples of common false dilemmas:
  • Either medicine can explain how Ms. X was cured, or it is a miracle. Medicine can't explain how she was cured. Therefore it is a miracle.
  • If we don't reduce public spending, our economy will collapse.
  • America: Love it or leave it.
  • The universe could not have been created from nothing, so it must have been created by an intelligent life force.
  Of course it is possible, using the same process, to create trilemmas, quadrilemmas, and so forth. Each time it is claimed (falsely) that the list of enumerated options is complete, and that one and only one acceptable option is hidden in that list."
  (Normand Baillargeon, A Short Course in Intellectual Self-Defense. Seven Stories Press, 2008)



• "Proposed solutions frequently have an either/or fallacy: 'Either we ban boxing or hundreds of young men will be senselessly killed.' A third alternative is to change boxing's rules or equipment. 'If we don't provide farmers with low-interest loans, they will go bankrupt.' Increasing prices for farm products might be a better alternative."
  (Stephen Reid, The Prentice Hall Guide for College Writers, 5th ed., 2000)

Also Known As: either-or fallacy, the excluded middle, the black and white fallacy