Wednesday, February 8, 2012

False Dilemma

This is the instance in which a dilemma is given, but in reality there is a third (or more) option(s).
A false dilemma is unethical because it is prohibiting the receiver from having all of the actual options available to him or her.  It is like saying to someone, "you can only have Pepsi or Coke."  Well, there's obviously more sodas than just Pepsi or Coke.  Even for cola examples, throw all of the no-name brands aside, you still have RC Cola which could be thrown into the mix.  In a business aspect, you see it all the time in electronics sales.  They give you only two options; the latest and greatest that has all the specs, but also the biggest price tag (or as they call it, the best "value"), and the almost-obsolete-model that is there, but they advise you really shouldn't buy it because it's a piece of junk.  There are usually tons of alternatives in these, especially when it comes to computers.

Can you think of any other examples where you would see a false dilemma?







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