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Is there a name for the "You've got a better solution?" logical fallacy?

I'm looking for the best way to describe the following logical fallacy (and I'm sure there's already a name for it, possibly in Latin):

Way too often, I've seen debates and discussions side-tracked by someone unable to defend their position requiring others provide alternative solutions before a problem is even acknowledged. If someone cannot come up with a solution on the spot for, say, violence by/against the police, or peace in the Middle East, then there's no point addressing or acknowledging problems such as race relations or root causes of Middle Eastern conflicts. Is there a name for that fallacy that stifles discussion in this way?

1 Answer

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  • 6 years ago

    Other than 'laziness'? Not really. There IS 'black and white', where "you present two alternative states as the only possibilities, when in fact more possibilities exist" (https://yourlogicalfallacyis.com/black-or-white ). The two possibilities here would be something like 'do the old, ineffectual way' and 'do nothing'.

    You could also, roughly, argue that it's Moving the Goalposts, since you're moving the issue away from "what's the best solution to this issue" to "can you specifically come up with an alternate solution", which is really not the original question.

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