False Dilemma
What is False Dilemma?
A false dilemma compresses a complicated question into two options and forces a choice between them. A principal presses a teacher: “are you on the school’s side or the rival’s?” An executive says “either we go national immediately or you admit you have no ambition.” At home: “is it the job or is it this family?” Three questions break it open: are those really the only two options? Is there something in between? Can the decision be taken in stages — pilot in two cities first and then look again?
False Dilemma: common mistakes and how to handle them
Worth distinguishing: some questions genuinely have only two states, and those are the clear-boundary questions the law of excluded middle governs. A false dilemma is what you get when a question that actually has several options, or comes in degrees, is squeezed into two.
What the False Dilemma questions test
spotting the either/or in a passage; supplying the hidden third option or the staged alternative; telling a genuine binary apart from a false dilemma; judging which response dismantles the framing rather than accepting it.