After skimming through Chapter 6 before writing this post, I felt as if I skimmed through a geometry text book with what looked like theorem and postulates with all of the "If A and then B..." terminology. But once I actually read it, I found some of the information understandable and useful.
Compound Claims
Compound claims are claims that consist of multiple claims but are viewed as only one claim. An example of a compound claim is a sporting event. "Either Team A will win or Team B will." The argument as one is that there will be one winner despite there being more than one claim.
False Dilemma
A false dilemma is the incorrect use of excluding possible conclusions where the "or" claim is false or improbable. The "or" claim is not necessarily the only possible "or" claim, but is used to attempt to strengthen the actual claim trying to be argued. For example, let's imagine a pair of newlyweds. The wife complains to the husband about his old car that he never uses. She wants him to either donate it or just have it sent to the junkyard. He refuses to do so, saying that it was his first car and cannot part with it. She responds by saying, "It's either me or the car!" She presents him with a false dilemma situation as she forces him to do what she says.
After reading your post I now have a better understanding of what compound claims and false dilemmas are. Your right by stating that either team A or B will win, it gives off the impression with these two claims that one team will in fact win a game. And for the false dilemmas, your example of the newlyweds of how the husband needs to choose between the car and his wife. This is a strategy that manipulates people into giving into the option that sounds more pleasing to the person who is giving the ultimatum. I see false dilemma used everyday and one that I had observed recently was when Halo Reach first came out and my guy friend was constantly playing that game. His girlfriend, who did play much... complained that he wasn’t spending enough time with her because of the constant gaming he was doing. And this is what she said. “It’s either you spend less time playing that game and spend time with me or I want talk to you anymore.” What do you think my friend did? He stopped playing of course because he wouldn’t wish to stop talking to his girlfriend. Oh, the wonders of false dilemmas... it’s something that people use to get what they want. Haha. They make things sound more pleasing than the other option, to make you choose the “correct” one.
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