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False dilemma

A reasoning error that treats limited options as if they exhaust the field.

Published 15 May 2026Updated 30 May 2026

A false dilemma frames a choice as only two options when other meaningful alternatives exist. The repair is to ask what options have been excluded and whether the boundary is justified.

Sources

Fallacies (Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy)

Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy / 2024 / Website

Canonical philosophical treatment of fallacy types.