Definition of False Dilemma

Etymologically dilemma comes from the Latin dilemma and is formed from two elements: the prefix di means two and, on the other hand, lemma, which is equivalent to a premise. Thus, a false dilemma is one in which two antagonistic statements are presented as the only possible ones when in reality there are other equally probable alternatives.

This type of inconsistent argumentation is part of the so-called logical fallacies and as the term itself indicates it is a false duality

In our approaches to ordinary life we ​​use this type of reasoning fallacious. If I affirm that Juan has not gone to work and, therefore, has either fallen asleep or is ill, I am incurring a false duality because there are other possible explanations that would allow us to understand what happened (for example, Juan could have had a family problem, find himself in a traffic jam or any other eventuality that justifies the absence of him).

It could be said that the false dilemma constitutes a simplification of a reality. On the other hand, those who resort to this form of disjunction

excluding they do not take into account that things are not always black or white, but that there is a range of nuances that should not be ignored.

Suppose someone says the following: or you study a race college or you'll end up in the queue unemployment. These two exclusive statements do not constitute a real dilemma, but rather an apparent bifurcation in which no other intermediate and perfectly valid options are contemplated.

In the language of politics

In political discourse, the false dilemma is one of the resources most common and most perverse rhetoricians. We have all heard or read statements like the following: socialism Either death, my proposal is supported or we are condemned to chaos, or you vote for me or the country is irretrievably ruined.

The perspective of only two sides or paths supposes a deformation or simplification of reality.

Although this form of argumentation can be analyzed in the context of the logic formal, we must not forget that throughout history we have used and do use a dual criterion for almost everything. In football we are from Madrid or Barca, River or Boca. On politics, you are left or right. In the sphere of beliefs we are atheists or believers. In short, we are for or against something in a radical and absolute way, as if not there was a broad intermediate spectrum or as if it were not possible to find the complementarity of the opposites.

Some believe that it is possible to "break" with the false dilemma in the mental schemes. An example that could illustrate the synthesis of two antagonistic options would be the case of someone who proclaims himself an atheist and Catholic at the same time (atheist because he does not believe in God and Catholic because the social and cultural reality that surrounds him is dyed with Catholicism and therefore his mind-sets are necessarily Catholic).

Photo: Fotolia - Zdenek Sasek

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