Break the false binary
'Either you're with us or…' — no. There's a third door.
The most common trap in argument is being handed two options and asked to pick. 'All speech or none.' 'Ban it or allow it.' Almost every real question has a spectrum, and the argument is about WHERE on it. Refuse the binary out loud and the trap springs on them instead.
Instead of
Fine — then I guess I'm against free speech.
Try
I don't think it's all or nothing. You already accept limits — fraud, threats. So the question is where the line goes, not whether there is one.
Try it today
Spot one either/or today and offer the option in the middle.
The science
The false dilemma is in every fallacy catalogue; Fisher & Ury (Getting to Yes, 1981) built a negotiation method on 'inventing options' beyond the two on the table.
Where you'd actually use it
- ⚖️ Ethics & Big QuestionsSomeone has caught the contradiction and put it to you directly. You do eat meat. You don't want to pretend the point doesn't land…
- ⚖️ Ethics & Big QuestionsClassic drill. You've said you'd pull the lever; now the follow-up is trying to force you to push someone to their death. Either a…
Next lesson
- 💥 Say why it mattersA reason tells them you're right. An impact tells them why they should care.
- 🪞 Use their own wordsThe hardest evidence to argue with is what someone already said.
- 🔗 Correlation isn't causeTwo things happening together is a clue, not a verdict.