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Argument to moderation (Latin: argumentum ad temperantiam)—also known as the false compromise, argument from middle ground, fallacy of gray, middle ground fallacy, or golden mean fallacy—is the fallacy that the truth is always in the middle of two opposites.

It does not necessarily suggest that an argument for the middle solution or for a compromise is always fallacious, but rather applies primarily in cases where such a position is ill-informed, unfeasible, or impossible, or where an argument is incorrectly made that a position is correct simply because it is in the middle.

An example of an argument to moderation would be considering two statements about the colour of the sky on Earth during the day – one claiming, correctly, that the sky is blue, and another claiming that it is yellow – and incorrectly concluding that the sky is the intermediate color, green.

See also

• Centrism – Political orientation
• Dialectic – Discursive method of arriving at the truth by way of reasoned contradiction and argumentation
• False balance – Media bias on opposing viewpoints
• Horseshoe theory – Posited similarity of the far-left and far-right
• Overton window – Range of ideas tolerated in public discourse
• Ratchet effect – Restrained ability of human process reversal
• Straw man – Form of incorrect argument and informal fallacy
• View from nowhere – Principle in journalismPages displaying short descriptions of redirect targets
• Wisdom of the crowd – Collective perception of a group of people
• Paradox of tolerance – Logical paradox in decision-making theory

References

1. "Fallacy: Middle Ground". Nizkor Project. Archived from the original on 21 July 2019.
2. Harker, David (2015). Creating Scientific Controversies: Uncertainty and Bias in Science and Society. Cambridge University Press. ISBN 978-1-107-06961-9. LCCN 2015011610.
3. Bennett, Bo. "Argument to Moderation". Logically Fallacious. Retrieved 14 February 2024.
4. Rose, Hannah (17 May 2022). "False compromise fallacy: why the middle ground is not always the best". Ness Labs. Retrieved 14 February 2024.
5. Gardner, Susan T. (2009). Thinking Your Way to Freedom: A Guide to Owning Your Own Practical Reasoning. Temple University Press. ISBN 978-1-59213-867-8. JSTOR j.ctt14btd4j. LCCN 2008023988.

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