# Rathering _Rathering_ is a way of sliding you swiftly and gently past a _false dichotomy_. The general form of a rathering is “It is not the case that _blahblahblah_, as orthodoxy would have you believe; it is _rather_ that _suchandsuchandsuch_–which is radically different.” Some ratherings are just fine; you really must choose between the two alternatives on offer; in these cases, you are not being offered a false, bur rather a genuine, inescapable dichotomy. But some ratherings are little more than sleight of hand, due to the fact that the word “rather” implies–without argument–that there is an important incompatibility between the claims flanking it. --- Date: 20240707 Links to: Tags: References: * [Fetching Title#kad8](https://fs.blog/daniel-dennett-critical-thinking/)