The nirvana fallacy is the
informal fallacy
Informal fallacies are a type of incorrect argument in natural language. The source of the error is not just due to the ''form'' of the argument, as is the case for formal fallacies, but can also be due to their ''content'' and ''context''. Falla ...
of comparing actual things with unrealistic, idealized alternatives.
[ It can also refer to the tendency to assume there is a perfect solution to a particular problem. A closely related concept is the "perfect solution fallacy".
By creating a ]false dichotomy
A false dilemma, also referred to as false dichotomy or false binary, is an informal fallacy based on a premise that erroneously limits what options are available. The source of the fallacy lies not in an invalid form of inference but in a false ...
that presents one option which is obviously advantageous—while at the same time being completely implausible—a person using the nirvana fallacy can attack any opposing idea because it is imperfect. Under this fallacy, the choice is not between real world solutions; it is, rather, a choice between one realistic achievable possibility and another unrealistic solution that could in some way be "better".
History
In '' La Bégueule'' (1772), Voltaire
François-Marie Arouet (; 21 November 169430 May 1778) was a French Age of Enlightenment, Enlightenment writer, historian, and philosopher. Known by his ''Pen name, nom de plume'' M. de Voltaire (; also ; ), he was famous for his wit, and his ...
wrote ''Le mieux est l'ennemi du bien'', which is often translated as "The perfect is the enemy of the good" (literally: "The better is the enemy of the good").
The nirvana fallacy was given its name by economist Harold Demsetz
Harold Demsetz (; May 31, 1930 – January 4, 2019) was an American professor of economics at the University of California at Los Angeles (UCLA).
Career
Demsetz grew up on the West Side of Chicago, the grandchild of Jewish immigrants from centra ...
in 1969,[ Quoted in ]
Perfect solution fallacy
The perfect solution fallacy is a related informal fallacy that occurs when an argument assumes that a perfect solution exists or that a solution should be rejected because some part of the problem would still exist after it were implemented.black and white thinking
Splitting (also called black-and-white thinking or all-or-nothing thinking) is the failure in a person's thinking to bring together the dichotomy of both perceived positive and negative qualities of something into a cohesive, realistic whole. It is ...
, in which a person fails to see the complex interplay between multiple component elements of a situation or problem, and, as a result, reduces complex problems to a pair of binary extremes.
It is common for arguments which commit this fallacy to omit any specifics about exactly how, or how badly, a proposed solution is claimed to fall short of acceptability, expressing the rejection only in vague terms. Alternatively, it may be combined with the fallacy of misleading vividness
Anecdotal evidence is evidence based only on personal observation, collected in a casual or non-systematic manner. The term is sometimes used in a legal context to describe certain kinds of testimony which are uncorroborated by objective, independ ...
, when a specific example of a solution's failure is described in emotionally powerful detail but base rates are ignored (see availability heuristic
The availability heuristic, also known as availability bias, is a mental shortcut that relies on immediate examples that come to a given person's mind when evaluating a specific topic, concept, method, or decision. This heuristic, operating on the ...
).
The fallacy is a type of false dilemma.
Examples
;Posit (fallacious)
: These anti- drunk driving ad campaigns are not going to work. People are still going to drink and drive no matter what.
:;Rebuttal
:: Complete eradication of drunk driving is not the expected outcome. The goal is reduction.
;Posit (fallacious)
: Seat belts are a bad idea. People are still going to die in car crashes.
:;Rebuttal
::While seat belts cannot make driving 100% safe, they do reduce one's likelihood of dying in a car crash.
;Posit (fallacious)
:Medical testing on animals is useless. The drug thalidomide
Thalidomide, sold under the brand names Contergan and Thalomid among others, is a medication used to treat a number of cancers (including multiple myeloma), graft-versus-host disease, and a number of skin conditions including complications of ...
passed animal tests but resulted in horrific birth defects when used by pregnant women.
:;Rebuttal
::This popular argument ignores all the thousands of drugs that failed animal testing, any number of which could have harmed humans. In the case of thalidomide, no testing was performed on pregnant animals; had this not been the case, the effect on pregnant women could have been foreseen.
See also
* Appeal to consequences
Appeal to consequences, also known as ''argumentum ad consequentiam'' (Latin for "argument to the consequence"), is an argument that concludes a hypothesis (typically a belief) to be either true or false based on whether the premise leads to desi ...
* Cutting off the nose to spite the face
"Cutting off one's nose to spite one's face" is an expression used to describe a needlessly self-destructive overreaction to a problem: "Don't cut off your nose to spite your face" is a warning against acting out of pique, or against pursuing rev ...
* Emotional memory
Emotion can have a powerful effect on humans and animals. Numerous studies have shown that the most vivid autobiographical memories tend to be of emotional events, which are likely to be recalled more often and with more clarity and detail than ...
* Optimism bias
Optimism bias (or the optimistic bias) is a cognitive bias that causes someone to believe that they themselves are less likely to experience a negative event. It is also known as unrealistic optimism or comparative optimism.
Optimism bias is commo ...
* Perfect is the enemy of good
Perfect is the enemy of good is an aphorism which means insistence on perfection often prevents implementation of good improvements. The Pareto principle or 80–20 rule explains this numerically. For example, it commonly takes 20% of the full tim ...
* Pollyanna principle
The Pollyanna principle (also called Pollyannaism or positivity bias) is the tendency for people to remember pleasant items more accurately than unpleasant ones. Research indicates that at the subconscious level, the mind tends to focus on the opti ...
* Wishful thinking
Wishful thinking is the formation of beliefs based on what might be pleasing to imagine, rather than on evidence, rationality, or reality. It is a product of resolving conflicts between belief and desire.
Methodologies to examine wishful think ...
References
Further reading
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Nirvana Fallacy
Informal fallacies
Idealism