What it is
Assuming the truth must lie halfway between two positions.
In the wild
One side says 10, the other says 0, so the truth is 5.
How to answer it
Ask what supports the midpoint itself. Compromise is a negotiation tool, not evidence.
False choices and ranges
Middle ground
Also called Argument to moderation, golden mean fallacy
In depth
Origin and naming
Known in Latin as 'argumentum ad temperantiam', the argument to moderation. The Greek idea of the golden mean — Aristotle's virtue sitting between excess and deficiency — was about character, not about splitting factual disputes, and the fallacy is what happens when that ethical picture is borrowed into arithmetic.
More places it shows up
Marketing wants a launch price of 40, finance wants 20, so the truth is obviously 30.
One report says the project is on time, the other says it is six months late — call it three months and move on.
She says the contract is legal, he says it is void; split the difference and sign half of it.
Two colleagues argue over the headcount, one says five, one says fifteen, so ten is blessed as fact.
How to spot it
- The midpoint arrives without evidence of its own — it is justified only by being between two other numbers.
- The two anchors are often chosen so the midpoint lands where the speaker wanted it all along.
- Once you notice the average was computed from two opinions rather than from data, the argument is over.