Hobson's choice
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
A Hobson's choice is a free choice in which only one option is offered, and one may refuse to take that option. The choice is therefore between taking the option or not; "take it or leave it." The phrase is said to originate from Thomas Hobson (1544–1630), a livery stable owner at Cambridge, England. To rotate the use of his horses he offered customers the choice of either taking the horse in the stall nearest the door or taking none at all.
Hobson's choice is different from:
- a choice between limited options
- Blackmail and extortion— the choice between paying money (or other economic good) and suffering an unpleasant action
- False dilemma— only two choices are considered, when in fact there are others
- Catch-22 and Morton's Fork— all choices yield equivalent, often undesirable, results
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[edit] Early appearances in writing
According to the Oxford English Dictionary, the first known written usage of this phrase is in The rustick's alarm to the Rabbies, written by Samuel Fisher in 1660:
- "If in this Case there be no other (as the Proverb is) then Hobson's choice ... which is, chuse whether you will have this or none."
It also appears in Joseph Addison's paper The Spectator (October 14, 1712); and in Thomas Ward's 1688 poem "England's Reformation", not published until after Ward's death. Ward wrote:
- "Where to elect there is but one, / 'Tis Hobson's choice—take that, or none."
[edit] Modern use
Hobson's choice is often misused to mean a false illusion of choice, (as can be seen in the examples on this page, especially in the section on American law). But it is not a choice between two undesirable options, which is a Morton's Fork. Such a choice between two options of nearly equal value is more properly called a dilemma. Hobson's choice is one between something or nothing.
On occasion, speakers and writers use the phrase "Hobbesian choice" instead of "Hobson's choice". They confuse the philosopher Thomas Hobbes with the relatively obscure Thomas Hobson.[1][2][3][4] Notwithstanding that confused usage, the phrase, "Hobbesian choice" is historically incorrect.[5][6][7][8]
In American politics, Presidential candidate Dr. Alan Keyes coined the tongue-in-cheek phrase "Dobson's Choice" (mildly criticizing Dr. James Dobson) to highlight the dilemma conservative voters face in a two-party political system while choosing to endorse the lesser of two evils. [9]
Henry Ford was said to have sold the Ford Model T with the famous Hobson's choice of "... any color ... so long as it is black".[10] In reality, the Model T was available in a modest palette of colors, but the rapid production required quick-drying paint, which from 1915-25 was available in only one color—black.
[edit] References
- ^ Hobbes, Thomas. 1651. Leviathan, or the Matter, Form, and Power of a Commonwealth, Ecclesiastical and Civil. Reprint, New York: Viking Press, 1982.
- ^ Dyzenhaus, David. 2001. "Hobbes and the Legitimacy of Law." Law and Philosophy 20 (September): 461–8.
- ^ Martinich, A.P. 1999. Hobbes: A Biography. Cambridge, UK; New York: Cambridge University Press
- ^ http://www.phrases.org.uk/meanings/183300.html
- ^ http://www.reference.com/search?q=hobson's%20choice
- ^ http://boaltalk.blogspot.com/2008/07/sunday-lexico-neuroticism_27.html
- ^ http://www.volokh.com/2003_06_08_volokh_archive.html#200408984
- ^ Oxford English Dictionary, Editor: "Amazingly, some writers have confused the obscure Thomas Hobson with his famous contemporary, the philosopher Thomas Hobbes. The resulting malapropism is beautifully grotesque" Bryan Garner, "A Dictionary of Modern Legal Usage" Second Edition, 404-405 (Oxford University Press 1995).
- ^ http://wnd.com/index.php?fa=PAGE.view&pageId=71830
- ^ Ford, Henry. "IV". My Life and Work. ISBN 978-0766127746. http://www.gutenberg.org/dirs/etext05/hnfrd10.txt.
