Dilemma
A dilemma (from
Terminology
The term dilemma is attributed by Gabriel Nuchelmans to Lorenzo Valla in the 15th century, in later versions of his logic text traditionally called Dialectica. Valla claimed that it was the appropriate Latin equivalent of the Greek dilemmaton. Nuchelmans argued that his probable source was a logic text of c.1433 of George of Trebizond.[2] He also concluded that Valla had reintroduced to the Latin West a type of argument that had fallen into disuse.[3]
Valla's neologism did not immediately take hold, preference being given to the established Latin term complexio, used by Cicero, with conversio applied to the upsetting of dilemmatic reasoning. With the support of Juan Luis Vives, however, dilemma was widely applied by the end of the 16th century.[4]
A dilemma is often phrased as "you must accept either A, or B", where A and B are propositions each leading to some further conclusion. In the case where this is true, it can be called a "dichotomy", but when it is not true, the dilemma constitutes a
Dilemmatic arguments
The dilemma is sometimes used as a
In logic
In
In philosophy
Dilemmatic reasoning has been attributed to
Moral dilemmas along with ethical dilemmas
In cases where two
In law
In law, Valentin Jeutner has argued that the term "legal dilemma" could be used as a term-of-art, to describe a situation where a legal subject is confronted with two or more legal norms that the legal subject cannot simultaneously comply with.[17]
Examples include contradictory contracts where one clause directly negates another clause, or conflicts between fundamental (e.g. constitutional) legal norms. Leibniz's 1666 doctoral dissertation De casibus perplexis (Perplexing Cases) is an early study of contradictory legal conditions.[18] In domestic law, it has been argued that the German Constitutional Court confronted a legal dilemma when determining, in connection with proceedings relating to the German Aviation Security Act, whether a government official could intentionally kill innocent civilians by shooting down a hijacked airplane that would otherwise have crashed into a football stadium, killing tens of thousands.[19]
In international law, it has been suggested that the
See also
- Trilemma – Difficult choice from three options
- At Dulcarnon – English proverb
References
- ISBN 9780199888771.
- ISBN 0-444-85730-3.
- ISBN 0-444-85730-3.
- ISBN 0-444-85730-3.
- ^ Hamilton, Sir William (1863). The Logic of Sir William Hamilton, Bart. Moore, Wilstach & Baldwin. p. 185.
- ISBN 9780802036537.
- JSTOR 10.1525/rh.2010.28.4.363
- ISBN 9783662540695.
- ISBN 0691029067.
- ISBN 978-0495603405.
- ISBN 9781108416337.
- ^ Sedley, David (2018). "Diodorus Cronus". The Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy. Metaphysics Research Lab, Stanford University.
- ^ Palmer, John (2017). "Zeno of Elea". The Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy. Metaphysics Research Lab, Stanford University.
- ISBN 9780520060630.
- ISBN 0691114617.
- ISBN 9780520060630.
- ^ Birkenkötter, Hannah, Valentin Jeutner: Irresolvable Norm Conflicts in International Law: The Concept of a Legal Dilemma, 28 (2017) European Journal of International Law 1415-1428.
- ^ Leibniz, Gottfried Wilhelm, "Inaugural Dissertation on Perplexing Cases in the Law" in Alberto Artosi, Bernardo Pieri, and Giovanni Sartor (eds.), Leibniz: Logico-Philosophical Puzzles in the Law (Springer 2013).
- ^ Jeutner, Valentin (2017), Irresolvable Norm Conflicts in International Law: The Concept of a Legal Dilemma, Oxford University Press, p. 15, 72. See also Michael Bohlander, ‘Of Shipwrecked Sailors, Unborn Children, Conjoined Twins and Hijacked Airplanes—Taking Human Life and the Defence of Necessity’ (2006) 70 The Journal of Criminal Law 147.
- ^ Jeutner, Valentin (2017), Irresolvable Norm Conflicts in International Law: The Concept of a Legal Dilemma, Oxford University Press, p. 10-11.
External links
- Media related to Dilemmas at Wikimedia Commons