Does logic have a more proper word to mean something similar to dilemma but neutral?

Question

Section 7.8 The Dilemma of Copi's Introduction to Logic says:

The dilemma is a common form of argument in ordinary language. It is, in essence, an argumentative device in which syllogisms on the same topic are combined, sometimes with devastating effect.

and

A dilemma need not always have an unpleasant conclusion. An example of one with a happy conclusion is provided by the following simple dilemma:

If the blest in heaven have no desires, they will be perfectly content; so they will be also if their desires are fully gratified; but either they will have no desires, or have them fully gratified; therefore they will be perfectly content.

So is dilemma a suitable word for that form or arguments?

Does logic have a more proper word to mean something similar to dilemma but neutral?

Answer 1

In logic, dilemma is the term commonly used for an argument form that proceeds from a disjunctive premise to a disjunctive conclusion. It is entirely neutral as to the desirability of the two alternatives.

Copi is right to point out that the word often has a negative connotation in English. Being in a dilemma is usually a bad thing: a choice between unpleasant options. Most dictionaries give this definition.

But the logical use is older, according to etymology. It seems to have been introduced in the 16th century precisely for the purpose of expressing a binary-alternative pair of propositions in rhetoric. It is one of those cases where, over time, the word has acquired an additional association.

In English, I'm not aware of any single word that has the opposite association, i.e. of pleasant alternatives. Colloquially we may say of a person with multiple good options they they are spoiled for choice.

Answer 2

So is dilemma a suitable word for that form or arguments?

You only need to look up dilemma in a dictionary. For example:

Dilemma [1515–1525] from Late Latin; from Greek: dílēmma, meaning "double assumption" or "double premise" -- from Random House Kernerman Webster's College Dictionary (2010)

So the word dilemma is perfectly appropriate.

Does logic have a more proper word to mean something similar to dilemma but neutral?

I doubt there could be a "more proper" word. Dilemma is perfectly appropriate.

I failed to see in what Copi says about the word "dilemma" anything that even suggests that it is not somehow "neutral".

There are many synonyms in English:

predicament, problem, difficulty, spot, fix, mess, puzzle, jam, embarrassment, plight, strait, pickle, quandary, perplexity.

So the word is often used in English to suggest the idea of predicament or quandary, and more generally the state of indecision when facing two equally unpleasant alternatives, but in formal logic it just means "double assumption", in accord with its original meaning in Greek.

It is clear that it is the use of the word "dilemma" in English (and in French) which has evolved to (also) mean "two unpleasant alternatives" instead of "double assumption". Presumably, this is because the word "alternative" on its own was, well, too neutral.

You could describe dilemma in the logical sense as disjunction of two mutually incompatible assumptions, but this would be frivolous. You would just annoy academics for no good reason.