Quadrilemma

A quadrilemma is a seldom–used and unconventional term describing a problem requiring choosing among four alternatives. It is in contrast to the standard term dilemma, which is a choice between two opposing alternatives in which a person can only choose one. A less common term trilemma involves choosing either one or two choices among three possibilities.

An essay on the subject of health care options suggested that choosing among technological change, insurance, quality of care, and containing costs was a quadrilemma since it required choosing among four alternatives. The term appeared in 1861 in The New York Times in an essay regarding the secession of the southern states of the United States, referring to choices available to the south. It was used in 2004 to describe choices available to the nation of Bhutan regarding a decision of whether or not to join the World Trade Organization. The term has been used to describe the premises for arguments concerning the existence of God referring to thinking by the mathematician Blaise Pascal.