Thought-terminating cliché

A thought-terminating cliché is a commonly used phrase, sometimes passing as folk wisdom, used to quell cognitive dissonance.

The term was popularized by Robert Jay Lifton in his book Thought Reform and the Psychology of Totalism. Lifton said, “The language of the totalist environment is characterized by the thought-terminating cliché. The most far-reaching and complex of human problems are compressed into brief, highly reductive, definitive-sounding phrases, easily memorized and easily expressed. These become the start and finish of any ideological analysis.”

The thought-terminating cliché is related to the opaque pigeonhole, or closed category, which also does not permit analysis.

In George Orwell’s novel Nineteen Eighty-Four, the fictional constructed language Newspeak is designed to reduce language entirely to a set of thought-terminating clichés. Aldous Huxley’s Brave New World society uses thought-terminating clichés in a more conventional manner, most notably in regard to the drug soma as well as modified versions of real-life platitudes, such as, “A doctor a day keeps the jim-jams away.”

Non-political examples

• Do as I say, not as I do.
• Why? Because I said so (bare assertion fallacy—also “I’m the parent, that’s why” (appeal to authority)).
• That’s a no-brainer.
• When you get to be my age...(as in “When you get to be my age you’ll find that’s not true”).
• You don’t always get what you want.
• The best defense is a good offense.
• Everyone is entitled to their own opinion (appeal to ridicule).
• It works in theory, but not in practice (base rate fallacy).
• There’s no silver bullet.
• Stupid is as stupid does.
• Life is unfair.
• Such is life.
• It is what it is.
• It was his time.
• Whatever.
• Yawn.
• Think about it.
• Just forget it.
• ...so, you do the math.
• God has a plan and a purpose (ignoratio elenchi).
• We will have to agree to disagree.
• We all have to do things we don't like.
• You are not being a "team player" (ignoratio elenchi).
• "That's just wrong." or "You don't just do that."

Political examples

Thought-terminating clichés are sometimes used during political discourse to enhance appeal or to shut down debate. In this setting, their usage can usually be classified as a logical fallacy.

• That’s just a (liberal/conservative/libertarian/communitarian/etc.) argument (association fallacy).
• Socialism or Barbarism! (false dichotomy)
• "Anarchist organisations", isn't that an oxymoron (equivocation)
• If you are not with us, you are against us. (false dichotomy)
• America: love it or leave it (false dichotomy)
• Support our troops (ignoratio elenchi).
• This is for security reasons (argument from ignorance).
• ...or the terrorists win (false dichotomy)
• We can’t talk about (controversial topic) because of national security (Loki’s Wager and ignoratio elenchi).
• My body, my choice (ignoratio elenchi)
• If you're not outraged, you're not paying attention (false dichotomy)
• Better Dead than Red! (false dichotomy)

See also

• Indoctrination
• Loaded language
• Slogan
• Soundbite
• Newspeak
• Godwin's law