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The Middle Ground Fallacy
The Middle Ground Fallacy
The opposite of the "Black-and-White" Fallacy, the Middle-Ground Fallacy occurs when an arguer, in an attempt to avoid taking a polarizing, black-or-white stance (even if a polarizing response is, in fact, the correct response), finds a safe but fallacious middle-ground stance.
This is commonly done by news media as they try to find the balance between "fair and balanced" reporting and getting to the sometimes painful or polarizing truth of a situation.
This can be a dangerous fallacy to ignore because it can permit an inaccurate status quo to continue and become widely accepted as truth even when it is completely wrong.
Example:
"Holly said that vaccinations caused autism in children, but her scientifically well-read friend Caleb said that this claim had been debunked and proven false. Their friend Alice offered a compromise that vaccinations must cause some autism, just not all autism."
From: https://yourlogicalfallacyis.com/middle-ground
Example:
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Sometimes ethics demand no compromise.
Example:
Not-So-Smart Guy: "Fire is not hot. It can be touched, and it won't hurt."
Smarter Friend: "Actually, fire is super-hot. It'll burn you. Don't touch it."
3rd Friend Who Doesn't Care About the Truth But Wants Everyone to Just Get Along: "How about we compromise and say that some fire is hot and some isn't?"
While it is commendable that the 3rd friend wants compromise and peace, nobody's best interests are served if they find the faulty middle ground of this argument...
Somebody, call an ambulance. Not-So-Smart Guy needs to go to the hospital.
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