Speaking truth to false dilemmas

"Either build that toll road to lessen congestion or let traffic speeds go down to 10 miles an hour during the rush." "The debate about global warming is about letting the free market take its course or making regulations that will hurt our economy." "Either I take this job that I'm going to hate, or just not have any income coming in for six months." These are examples of false dilemmas, a rhetorical tool that blights productive conversations. False dilemmas make us less creative and more prone to making bad choices.

A false dilemma is a statement that creates the impression that there are only a few real options, when there may in fact be many more. In the first example, there may be other realistic options to reducing congestion besides a toll road -- such as more public transportation, improvements to existing roads, etc.

There are two main causes for false dilemmas: either the speaker is not aware that other realistic options exist, or the speaker is trying to manipulate us into accepting the speaker's preferred alternative. A classic example is the case of residents of a low-density suburb who oppose townhouses or apartment buildings on the grounds that these buildings will turn their community "into a city." Assuming there are no ulterior motives, this is an example of an innocent false dilemma. To these residents, a "suburb" and a "city" are completely different, and there is no way to combine the best of both worlds.

What should you do when confronted with a false dilemma? The best approach is to name it and show that there are a number of reasonable choices. But this is easier said than done.

• If you're in a position of authority, you can simply make the speaker aware that other possibilities exist, and should ask the speaker to investigate other options.
  
  
• If you're in a subordinate or peer relationship (such as with a colleague or client), you have to be more artful.
• First, try to understand why the speaker is making the false dilemma. Does it appear to be a lack of awareness? Or is something more going on there?
• If your relationship with the speaker is already tense, avoid naming the false dilemma. This may aggravate the tension and cause the speaker to dig in on a position.
• Ask non-threatening questions, such as "what would happen if..." "have someone considered..." These may help to expand the thinking of the innocent speaker. The manipulative speaker may still dig in, but other members of the audience might start to think differently.
• Create learning opportunities. To help residents think differently about higher density houses, planners and architects use charrettes and other public forums to show how many communities can add different types of buildings and stores while protecting their character.
  

If you have a professional development tip you'd like to share, please send your tip to Leo Vazquez at vazquezl@rci.rutgers.edu.  Please also give us your full name, title and affiliation, so we can give you proper credit.