The bogus dilemma 25dilemma is bogus. The bogus dilemma is the fallacy of falsely or
mistakenly presenting a dilemma where none exists.
In the above example, the son has several possible replies. He
can claim that the dilemma is bogus by denying that the con-
sequences follow - this is called 'grasping the dilemma by the
horns'. He can simply deny that men will hate him if he tells the
truth: on the contrary, he might claim, they would respect him
for it. The alternative statements about consequences are called
the 'conjuncts', and it is enough to show that one or both is false
to label the dilemma as bogus. As another option, he might
show that the choice is false. This is called 'going between the
horns', and consists of showing that other choices are possible.
Instead of limiting himself to truth or lies, he might be truthful at
some times, deceitful at others. He might make statements
which contain elements of both truth and falsehood. The
dilemma is shown to be bogus if the choice, which is called the
'disjunct', is not an exhaustive one. A third way of dealing with a
dilemma is to rebut it. This is an elegant technique which
requires an equally ferocious beast to be fabricated out of the
same elements as the original one, but sent charging in the
opposite direction to meet it head-on. In the above example, the
youth replied:
/ shall do it, mother. For if I tell lies, men will love me for it; and if I tell
truth the gods will love me. Since I must tell truth or lies, I shall be
beloved of men or gods.
(This is so pretty that when one sees it done in debate, there is an
urge to throw money into the ring.)Protagoras, who taught law among other things, dealt with a
poor student by agreeing to waive the fee until the man had won
his first case. As time went by, and there was no sign of the youth