I have been truant with our Fallacies for a while, but I figure I do them as much for myself as for our readers.
By posing, or implying, a false dilemma, you put the other guy off balance for a moment. Like most fallacies, it works because we, in the Western World, tend to give the other guy the benefit of the doubt and to assume his logical integrity. Wrong! He just might be working an agenda.
Always watch out for "either A or B" arguments. Examples:
1. A classic: "If the glove don't fit, you must acquit." Why? Aren't there other considerations? What if they weren't the same gloves? What if they shrunk from the blood? What if he didn't care whether they were a nice fit or not? He got the jury going, though - and the rhyme helped.
2. "You believe in choice? What are you, some sort of baby-killer?" You see how false dilemmas give the illusion of a sharply-divided reality. What can you say? "No, wait - I never killed a baby..." and you are on the defensive right away.
3. A famous Christian one: "Either Christ was the son of God, or he was a con-man or a loony." I worship Him, but not because of this false dilemma.
4. "If you're not part of the solution, you're part of the problem." This false dilemma tugs at one's guilt a little, until you see the trick that is being pulled. After all, what if there is nothing meaningful I can do about it? Or what if I don't care? Or what if I think it's a minor problem? Or what if managing my own life is all I can handle? Or what if saving the world just isn't my bag?
Image: The late, great defence lawyer Johnny Cochran.
