I have often been amused by our vulgar tendency to take complex issues, with solutions at neither extreme of a continuum of possibilities, and break them into dichotomies, assigning one group to one pole and the other to an opposite end, with no acknowledgment of subtleties and intermediate positions-and nearly always with moral opprobrium attached to opponents.
About this quote
- What does it mean?
- People often split complex issues into two opposing sides, ignoring middle ground. This adds moral judgment to disagreements.
- In plain terms
- Complex issues get simplified into black and white choices.
- What can you take from it?
- Avoid dividing complex topics into simple opposites.
Where it applies
Putting it to work
Questions to consider
- How do we avoid false dichotomies?
- Why do we prefer simple answers?
Another view
It describes a common behavior without offering solutions.
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