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{{short description|Informal fallacy involving falsely limited alternatives}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=May 2024}}
[[Image:Young America's dilemma - Dalrymple. LCCN2010651418.jpg|thumb|upright=1.5|Young America's dilemma: Shall I be wise and great, or rich and powerful? (Poster''[[Puck from(magazine)|Puck]]'' 1901)]]
 
A '''false dilemma''', also referred to as '''false dichotomy''' or '''false binary''', is an [[informal fallacy]] based on a premise that erroneously limits what options are available. The source of the fallacy lies not in an invalid form of inference but in a false premise. This premise has the form of a [[disjunction|disjunctive claim]]: it asserts that one among a number of alternatives must be true. This disjunction is problematic because it oversimplifies the choice by excluding viable alternatives, presenting the viewer with only two absolute choices when, in fact, there could be many.
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==Examples==
===False choice===
The presentation of a '''false choice''' <!--boldface per [[WP:R#PLA]]--> often reflects a deliberate attempt to eliminate several options that may occupy the middle ground on an issue. A common argument against [[noise pollution]] laws involves a false choice. It might be argued that in [[New York City]] noise should not be regulated, because if it were, a number of businesses would be required to close. This argument assumes that, for example, a bar must be shut down to prevent disturbing levels of noise emanating from it after midnight. This ignores the fact that law could require the bar to lower its noise levels, or install [[soundproofing]] structural elements to keep the noise from excessively transmitting onto others' properties.<ref>{{cite news|author1=Desantis, Nick|title=Data Shows Bars With Most Noise Complaints, But Is It Just Sound and Fury?|url=http://eastvillage.thelocal.nytimes.com/2012/01/23/noise-complaints/|access-date=31 October 2015|work=The New York Times|date=23 January 2012|archive-date=4 August 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160804222527/http://eastvillage.thelocal.nytimes.com/2012/01/23/noise-complaints/|url-status=dead}}</ref>
 
===Black-and-white thinking===
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==Similar concepts==
Various different terms are used to refer to ''false dilemmas''. Some of the following terms are equivalent to the term "''false dilemma"'', some refer to special forms of false dilemmas and others refer to closely related concepts.<!--boldface per [[WP:R#PLA]]-->
 
* '''bifurcationBifurcation fallacy'''
* '''blackBlack-or-white fallacy'''
* '''denyingDenying a conjunct''' (similar to a false dichotomy: see {{slink|Formal fallacy|Denying a conjunct}})
* ''[[doubleDouble bind]]''
* '''eitherEither/or fallacy'''
* '''fallacyFallacy of exhaustive hypotheses'''
* '''fallacyFallacy of the excluded middle'''
* fallacy''Fallacy of the '''false alternative'''<ref>{{cite journal|last=Davies|first=W. Martin|url=https://philpapers.org/archive/DAVAQA-2.pdf|title=An 'infusion' approach to critical thinking: Moore on the critical thinking debate|date=May 2006|journal=Higher Education Research & Development|doi=10.1080/07294360600610420|volume=25|number=2|pages=179–193|s2cid=144167015|access-date=23 July 2019|archive-date=26 May 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230526184925/https://philpapers.org/archive/DAVAQA-2.pdf|url-status=live}}</ref>
* '''falseFalse binary'''
* '''falseFalse choice'''
* '''falseFalse dichotomy'''
* '''invalidInvalid disjunction'''
* '''noNo middle ground'''
 
==See also==
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