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College Composition / Unit 30   CMP 0734 short lesson, about 20 seconds

False Dilemma

Captions available

The idea

A false dilemma, sometimes called the either-or fallacy, presents only two options when an issue has more.

In practice

Claiming that a person must either support a war or oppose the troops ignores that someone can oppose a war and still want the troops safe.

Where people slip

A false dilemma can shift the terms of a debate, much as a straw man does.

Your place on the trail

Every lesson rests on earlier ones and opens later ones. Tap any to jump.

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