dilemma

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dilemma

Logic a form of argument one of whose premises is the conjunction of two conditional statements and the other of which affirms the disjunction of their antecedents, and whose conclusion is the disjunction of their consequents. Its form is if p then q and if r then s; either p or r so either q or s

Collins Discovery Encyclopedia, 1st edition © HarperCollins Publishers 2005

The following article is from The Great Soviet Encyclopedia (1979). It might be outdated or ideologically biased.

Dilemma

a particular form of inference with hypothetical (conditional) and alternative (disjunctive) premises. Two types are distinguished: the constructive (the affirmative form, the modus ponens dilemma) and the destructive (the negative form, the modus tollens dilemma), each of which, in turn, can be simple or complex. Complex constructive dilemmas are of the form “if A, then B; if C, then D; A or C; therefore, B or D” (where A,B,C,D are arbitrary judgments); simple constructive dilemmas are of the form “If A, then B; if C, then B; A or C; therefore, B” (the consequences of the conditional premises coincide). Complex destructive dilemmas are of the form “If A, then B; if C, then D; not-B or not-D; therefore, not-A or not-C”; simple destructive dilemmas are of the form “If A, then B; if A, then C; not-B or not-C; therefore, not-A” (where A, B, C, D are any judgments and the particle “not” negates the judgment before which it stands). The logical form of the dilemma finds an application in debates and discussions; in particular, logical refutations are often constructed according to the form of the simple constructive dilemma. Like any inference in logic, a dilemma guarantees a true consequence only if the premises are true.

In the figurative sense, a dilemma is a difficult situation in which a person finds himself when he must make a choice between two equally unpleasant possibilities.

REFERENCES

Church, A. Vvedenie v matematicheskuiu logiku, vol. 1. Moscow, 1960. Pages 98, 394. (Translated from English.)
Getmanova, A. D. Vyrazhenie deduktivnykh umozakliuchenii traditsionnoi logiki v simvolicheskoi logike. Murmansk, 1962.

B. V. BIRIUKOV

Dilemma

Buridan’s ass

placed exactly between two equal haystacks, could not decide which to turn to in his hunger. [Fr. Philos.: Brewer Dictionary, 154]

References in periodicals archive ?

This commitment and her negotiation of multiple dilemmas related to this practice contributed to an ever-present dilemmatic space for Ms.

A CASE STUDY OF DILEMMAS ENCOUNTERED WHEN CONNECTING MIDDLE SCHOOL MATHEMATICS INSTRUCTION TO RELEVANT REAL WORLD EXAMPLES

MMD: 515), in which numerous religious-spiritual elements are used to draw a comprehensive image of the dilemmatic relationship between man and the gods/God, Creation and Creator.

Lifting the veil off Old Thunder: the rise of Leviathan

In facing the threat of economic slowdown, the government is facing a dilemmatic situation.

Potential Indonesian economic slowdown in 2013

The ongoing dilemmatic situation over formation of new provinces including political and security situations of the country would be addressed in the meeting.

Nawaz summons party high ups meeting tomorrow

He saves Kitch's wife from a ghost, confronts a football quiz that could make his career or utterly ruin it, tries to pick up Zulu pronunciation, almost encounters pirates, and is forced into making a dilemmatic choice between the two wives of a client...Pre-order the book and learn for yourself that it's a mad, mad, mad world.

Pre-Order PG Bhaskar's Jack is Back in Corporate Carnival at Infibeam

Asin Palacios, as mentioned by Davis, translates it a "dilemmatic speculation".

Al-Ghazali's methods of proof in his al-Iqtisad fil-I'tiqad

There are, however, other familiar dilemmatic stories, whose harmlessness might be more difficult to establish.

Do moral dilemmas tell against the consistency of a given moral system?

The participants were asked to judge the appropriateness of a reaction to the dilemmatic situation in a forced-choice situation while their brain activation was recorded with fMRI.

Philosophical implications and multidisciplinary challenges of moral physiology

Here in extract 2, Rick describes the dilemmatic nature of fathering identities by suggesting that there is a 'trade off' between unpaid caring and paid work.

The pick and mix of fathering identities

The dilemmatic mood of the decades that falls amidst the twentieth century provides a particular, crucial and historical background to the coming-out of Jewish-American aspiration for the position of mainstream whiteness in the social stratum.

Between a tribal self and mainstream whiteness: the obscurity and dilemma of the Jewish American identity/Egemen beyaz kulturu ve kavim benligi arasinda kalmislik: Yahudi Amerikali kimligin belirsizlik ve ikilemi

Nonetheless, this conditional right to possess nuclear weapons is dilemmatic for reasons already discussed--the "good" of protecting liberal democratic regimes by nuclear means comes at the expense of undermining the broader legal commitment by the de jure nuclear democracies to eliminate all nuclear weapons.

Reviving nuclear ethics: a renewed research agenda for the twenty-first century

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