DILEMMA (Gr. &Xuµua, a

See also:

• DOUBLE
• DOUBLE (from the Mid. Eng. duble, the form which gives the present pronunciation, through the Old Er. duble, from Lat. duplus, twice as much)

double proposition, from bi- and aµ(36.vetv)  , a term used technically in logic, and popularly in common parlance and rhetoric . (r) The latter use has no exact definition, but in general it describes a situation wherein from either of two (or more) possible alternatives an unsatisfactory conclusion results . The alternatives are called the " horns " of the dilemma . Thus a nation which has to choose between bankruptcy and the repudiation of its debts is on the horns of a dilemma . (2) In logic there is considerable divergence of opinion as to the best definition . Whately defined it as " a conditional syllogism with two or more antecedents in the major and a disjunctive minor." Aulus Gellius gives an example as follows:—" Women are either fair or ugly; if you marry a fair woman, she will attract other men; if an ugly woman she will not please you; therefore marriage is absurd." From either alternative, an unpleasant result follows . Four kinds of dilemma are admitted: (a) Simple Constructive: If A, then C; if B, then C, but either B or A; therefore C . (b) Simple Destructive: If A is true, B is true; if A is true, C is true; B and C are not both true; therefore A is not true . (c) Complex Constructive: If A, then B; if C, then D; but either A or C; therefore either B or D . (d) Complex Destructive: If A is true, B is true; if C is true, D is true; but B and D are not both true; hence A and C are not both true . The soundness of the dilemmatic argument in general depends on the alternative possibilities . Unless the alternatives produced exhaust the possibilities of the case, the conclusion is invalid .

The logical

form of the argument makes it especially valuable in public speaking, before uncritical audiences . It is, in fact, important rather as a rhetorcial subtlety than as a serious argument . Dilemmist is also a term used to translate Vaibhashikas, the name of a Buddhist school of philosophy .