False dichotomy

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The logical fallacy of false dichotomy, black-or-white thinking or false choice occurs when one provides only two (or a few) answers to a question, giving the illusion that these choices exhaust all possibilities, when in fact they don't. Some examples include:

In fact, both may be wrong. (Also, don't forget that evolution doesn't explain how life arose!)
This ignores other possibilities, such as "legend" or that he never made such claims that were attributed to him.
  • You're either with us or against us.


  • Theism = Belief in one or more gods


"None of the above"



  • This glass is empty
  • This glass is full
  • None of the above



  • This glass is empty
  • This glass isn't empty
  • None of the above


Note that it isn't necessary to be able to say what "none of the above" is. For instance, let's say someone says, "Either flying saucers exist, or a lot of intelligent, well-respected people are lying." You may not be able to think of an alternate explanation, but it is not clear that "flying saucers" and "good people lying" cover all the bases. There might be a third explanation that you haven't thought of yet. Thus, "none of the above" cannot be eliminated. Intelligent people might be sincerely mistaken. As for people who are "Good" (vague and subjective term) or masquerade as such, they do not necessarily possess all possible traits one regards as "Good", like honesty, generosity, liability etc. Provided someone is mostly Honest, it doesn't mean they'd be unable or refuse to lie no matter the circumstances.


See also

v · d Logical fallacies
v · d Formal fallacies

v · d Faulty generalisations
Distribution fallacies   Fallacy of composition · Fallacy of division
Ontological fallacies   Fallacy of reification · Pathetic fallacy · Loki's Wager
v · d False relevance
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