False dichotomy

"America, love it or leave it."

In a false dichotomy (also called a false dilemma, either or, black or white, the missing middle) you are presented with two choices, when in fact there are more than two choices.  If one choice is discredited, then the reader is forced to accept the other choice.  But this is not an adequate argument, the choice favored must be supported by evidence.  

Examples:

"If today is not Tuesday, it must be Wednesday."

"Evolution science is in disarray, so 'creation science' must be right."

"Its owls versus jobs, the environment or the economy."  Not really, of course.  Most of the jobs lost in the logging industry were from automation and exporting unprocessed logs, not from protecting endangered species.  And several studies have shown that healthy environments and economies go hand in hand.

The dichotomy can also be in the form of a question, which not only restricts choices but also forces a decision.  For example, a salesman will ask  "Do you want the red car or the blue one."  

In high school my class was given an assignment to write a paper:  While at home some people came to the door appearing to be injured.  We were to tell if we would let the people in to use the phone, or turn them away.  Most of the class protested that there was another alternative, we could call for help while the people waited outside.

Here is an example from Wilfred Beckerman (page 100):  "But with the global warming problem, society is faced with the choice between (i) accepting some remote and unquatifiable possibility of sharp climatic change in the longer run with possibly sever economic effects and (ii) certain economic and social catastrophe if draconian policies are adopted to avoid it."  But there are many "no regrets" actions that can be taken.  Beckerman even recommends some of these.  For example, on page 200 he recommended ending policies that subsidize the unecomic use of fossil fuels, and promoted research into energy efficiency. 

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Reference

Beckerman, Wilfred, Through Green-Colored Glasses:  Environmentalism Reconsidered., Cato Institute, 1996.

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Written by Jim Norton

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