Logical Errors

Logical Fallacies

Faulty Premises

Misleading Terms

Either/Or

The either-or fallacy operates by expressing an argument in terms of only two mutually exclusive choices and by arguing for one of them as the conclusion. This conveniently eliminates other alternatives which might offer acceptable courses of action. A classic example of the either-or fallacy, also known to logicians as the fallacy of bifurcation, is the statement "You're either part of the solution or you're part of the problem." This sounds heroic and challenging, but it excludes other options that someone with a different point of view on "the problem" might want to entertain. Other well-known examples include "Better dead than red," "Fifty-four-forty or fight," and "Give me liberty or give me death!"

Parent Topics:

Map of Logical Errors