argument to moderation

{{Short description|Informal fallacy that the truth is always a compromise, even if such a position is unfeasible}}

{{Use British English Oxford spelling|date = June 2018}}

{{Use dmy dates|date=June 2018}}{{Redirect-synonym|Fallacy of gray|the continuum fallacy}}

Argument to moderation ({{langx|la|argumentum ad temperantiam}})—also known as the false compromise, argument from middle ground, fallacy of gray, middle ground fallacy, or golden mean fallacy{{cite web |url=http://www.nizkor.org/features/fallacies/middle-ground.html |title=Fallacy: Middle Ground |website=Nizkor Project |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190721094721/http://www.nizkor.org/features/fallacies/middle-ground.html |archive-date=2019-07-21 |url-status=dead}}—is the fallacy that the truth is always in the middle of two opposites.{{Cite book |last=Harker |first=David |url=https://archive.org/details/creatingscientif0000hark |title=Creating Scientific Controversies: Uncertainty and Bias in Science and Society |publisher=Cambridge University Press |year=2015 |isbn=978-1-107-06961-9 |lccn=2015011610 |url-access=registration}}

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.{{Cite web |title=Argument to Moderation |url=https://www.logicallyfallacious.com/logicalfallacies/Argument-to-Moderation |last=Bennett |first=Bo |access-date=2024-02-14 |website=Logically Fallacious |language=en}}{{Cite web |last=Rose |first=Hannah |date=2022-05-17 |title=False compromise fallacy: why the middle ground is not always the best |url=https://nesslabs.com/false-compromise-fallacy |access-date=2024-02-14 |website=Ness Labs |language=en}}

An example of an argument to moderation would be considering two statements about the colour of the sky on Earth during the day{{snd}}one claiming, correctly, that the sky is blue, and another claiming that it is yellow{{snd}}and incorrectly concluding that the sky is the intermediate colour, green.{{Cite book |last=Gardner |first=Susan T. |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=WmFzEAAAQBAJ |title=Thinking Your Way to Freedom: A Guide to Owning Your Own Practical Reasoning |publisher=Temple University Press |year=2009 |isbn=978-1-59213-867-8 |jstor=j.ctt14btd4j |lccn=2008023988}}