Discussion 3: Ultimatums

Everyone has been given an ultimatum before, whether you heard it when you were as a child from your parents trying to get you to behave, or whether the ultimatum was given from a boss, or even a partner. Most ultimatums are set up like a hypothetical statement or hypothetical syllogisms which are deductive arguments. An example of an ultimatum in the form of a hypothetical statement within a relationship, is if there was a married couple and the husband was an alcoholic. An ultimatum that the wife might give is "If you dont stop drinking and go to rehab, then I'll be forced to end this relationship and leave you." A conclusion that would logically follow from this ultimatum (assuming that the husband truly cares for his wife) he would do as she asked, and quit drinking and check into a rehab center. That would be the logical conclusion but might not always be the most popular. This ultimatum could go either hurt the relationship or enhance it, depending on how each person involved handled the situation. Like most ulitmatums, giving one can be quite arduous on the stability of any relatiosnhip. Its hard to give a threat and stick to it, and its hard to promise to abide by the ultimatum and follow through. Ultimatums can serioulsy enhance a relationship if both partners were serious about fixing the problem.