Appeals to emotion

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Appeals to emotion are fallacious because they are replacing facts with emotion to get others to accept their claim.

They have the general form:

• Good/Bad emotions are associated with X.
• Therefore X should be accepted/rejected.

Appeals to emotion are prevalent in advertising, and also in politics.

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Appeal to pity.

Pity does not logically add weight to an argument, however as with all emotional appeals, it can be effective.

Examples:

• Thank you for offering me this interview today. This job is important to me as it will help me to support my disabled mother.
• Who knows the amount of suffering innocent puppies endure? Please donate as much as you can to our charity and save puppies from abuse.
• Jury members, when reaching your verdict bear in mind that the accused was raised in poverty by a single mother who spent large amounts of time at work simply to make ends meet...

Appeals to pity try to evoke a sense of sympathy which can either be used as evidence in an argument, to add weight to the arguer's position, or to deflect the focus from the issue to the person's circumstances (who is often cast as an innocent victim fighting adversity - therefore you should go easy on them).

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Appeal to utility.

The opposite to the appeal to pity. It is used to dismiss ethical and moral concerns with an appeal to practicality.

Examples:

• Abortion should be a woman's right; who wants to bring unwanted children into the world?
• Why should I, a single man, pay tax to subsidise married couples' children?

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Appeal to fear.

The claim that some action should be taken to prevent undesirable consequences of not taking that action. It is often presented as a warning.

It takes the form:

1) X is a circumstance to fear.

2) Action Y should be taken to prevent circumstance X.

The appeal to fear can be valid or fallacious depending on whether the preventative action (action Y) really can be shown to prevent circumstance X.

• House fires can kill you and your family: fit smoke detectors to your house (valid).
• You must believe that God exists. After all, if you do not accept the existence of God, then you will face the horrors of hell (fallacious).

Appeals to fear work on our emotions and our general lack of ability to understand risk. They work by:

1. Identifying a threat (real or imagined);
2. Offering a prevention;
3. Convincing others that the prevention will be effective;
4. Convincing others that they are capable of facilitating the recommended prevention.

Appeals to fear are common in advertising, conspiracy theories, politics, propaganda, and promotion of alternative medicine. In fact it is a useful tool for anyone who wishes to influence the behaviour of others.

Scaremongering works by exploiting our natural fears and insecurities. Those who oppose vaccination, for example, often state: vaccines contain poisons, do you want to poison your children?

To counteract falling for an appeal to fear we need to:

1. Ascertain whether or not the perceived threat is actually real;
2. If it is, find out what the real level of risk faced is;
3. Decide whether or not the proposed preventative measures actually reduce the risk;
4. If any of the above are not true, then the appeal to fear is a fallacious one.

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Appeal to hope.

Much used in advertising. There is nothing wrong with hoping for good things, however, it is fallacious when the product/belief/altered behaviour has no influence on any real outcome.

Examples:

• The Lynx effect.
• It could be you (national lottery slogan).

Note: example 2 is logically true, but the chance of winning is highly disproportionate to the amount of hope raised. To all intents and purposes, the chances of winning the lottery are zero. Which is why many are opposed to it being sold as false hope to a way out of poverty for the poor.

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Appeal to flattery.

Simply a ruse to get someone to agree with you by praising them in some way.

Examples:

• L'Oreal - because you're worth it.
• I have argued coherently that religion should be removed from the education system. I'm sure that someone as highly intelligent as you can see the force of my argument.

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Appeal to guilt.

Simply using the feeling of guilt to get someone to agree with you.

Examples:

• I've spent 2 hours and went to a lot of effort to do this MLM presentantion for you. Surely you're not going to leave without joining.
• Young Johnny, don't you dare start smoking. It would break your mother's heart if you took up the very habit that killed your grandfather.

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Appeal to humour/mockery.

Many fallacies are humorous, especially amphiboly. The difference here is that the humour is intentional and is used to persuade others by making them laugh at the claim.

Examples:

• Equality for women in the workplace? Yeah, the day one of them buys a round of drinks!
• "I notice that everyone in favor of abortion has already been born."
  --Ronald Reagan.

Note that there is no evidence presented against the claim. They are simply laughed away.

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Appeal to Gravity.

This is an appeal to be serious. In so doing, the opponent can be made to look frivolous.

Examples:

• Mr Blair has been Prime Minister for too long. It's time we had serious man to do the serious job of getting this country back on its feet.
• We have been too soft on crime. Vote Liberal Democrat - the party who will take a responsible position on crime.

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Appeal to force.

This is where a person gets someone to accept their position through either a direct or a veiled threat. i.e. If you don't accept my position, you'll suffer the consequences.

Examples:

• I hope you'll be voting for my proposal in the board meeting Jenkins, I'd hate to have to let you go.
• The defendant ought to be found innocent because if he isn't, there will be a riot and many innocent citizens will be hurt or killed.

This one is similar, but not identical, to the appeal to fear. There is malevolence with an appeal to force.

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Appeal to bribery.

This is where a person gets someone to accept their position through either a direct or a veiled bribe. i.e. If you accept my position, you'll be rewarded.

Examples:

• I hope you'll be voting for my proposal in the board meeting Jenkins, it will result in your promotion if it passes.
• Children who sit and watch the TV quietly will get some chocolate.

This exploits people's desire for personal gain.

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Jingoism (Appeal to Patriotism).

This is where a person gets someone to accept their position through an appeal to group mentality. i.e. a love of their country, flag, patriotism, community, etc.

Examples:

• Never mind the lack of WMD, Saddam was a bad man: support our brave troops in Iraq.
• We need the power to lock people up without trial; these terrorist suspects are a threat to our country.

This can be used in the negative by accusing people of being unpatriotic if they don't accept your position.