The Middle Ground Fallacy

This fallacy assumes that a compromise between two extreme conflicting points is always true.

Scenario

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 cause some autism.

Redressing the Fallacy

We must not assume that the middle ground is always the better answer. Some viewpoints and some actions are so reprehensible that there is no good reason to assume that the middle ground is better. Between the two extremes of murder is always wrong and murder everyone, the middle ground of murder 50 percent of the people is clearly wrong. If your interlocutor assumes the middle ground is the correct viewpoint, invite them to explicitly state reasons why the middle ground is the better viewpoint. That the middle ground is the correct view cannot be assumed; it must be argued for.