Appeal Definitions
An appeal in which the arguer urges the listener to desire to belong to a select group or to keep the group exclusive.
Inner Ring
An argument that is based on a disproportionate appeal to sorrow, compassion, or sympathy as a substitute for evidence that proves the arguement is true.
Appeal to Pity
Furious about a penalty call, the football coach yells at the referee, 'Are you blind? You've always been the worst ref in this league! You're just a bitter, pathetic person who hates our team!'
ad hominem
I know that everyone believes that children should not talk to strangers, but you should be brave enough to disregard what everyone else says.
romantic rebel
A car commercial shows a father teaching his teenage daughter to drive in their ne sedan. Soft acoustic music plays as the father smiles proudly, his eyes welling with tears as she successfully parallel parks. The tagline reads, 'For the moments that matter most."
appeal to emotion
A fallacy in which the arguer claims that because he or she is the sole believer that something is true, then the arguer must be right, regardless of the evidence.
A fallacy in which the arguer claims that something is good merely because it is difficult.
Appeal to Rigor
Crocs have been made fun of for years. Think of all those poor Crocs sitting on store shelves while everyone laughs at them. Crocs deserve to finally be called the greatest shoes ever.
Appeal to Pity
During a fierce scientific debate on astrophysics, Dr. Stockton dismisses his rival's new theory on black holes by saying, 'Why should we listen to Dr. Grogan? He can't even remember to comb his hair or wear a matching suit to a conference.'
ad hominem
An editorial on artificial intelligence warns, 'If we allow students to us AI to brainstorm essay ideas, soon they will use it to write the essays. Before long, human creativity will die completely, and computers will generate all human thought.
Slippery Slope
A fallacy in which the listener rejects the speaker's argument because the speaker does not live consistently by the argument he or she is making; also used to excuse one's own behavior.
tu quoque
An appeal that diverts the listener from considering the truth of an argument by urging him or her to act out of fear of physical or social consequences.
Appeal to Force
You don't think Crocs are the greatest shoes ever? Wow. I didn't realize you had such terrible taste.
Appeal to Shame
During the town hall meeting, community leader Gwenevere Anderson states firmly, "Listen to me. Either we approve the budget to build this new highway, or our town's economy will completely collapse by next year. Ther is no other option!
Worst-Case Scenario
In her weekly opinion piece, Riley claims, 'The Honda electric car is obviously the best vehicle on the market right now. Literally everyone in my neighborhood is buying one this month!
ad populum
A fallacy wit shades of emotional appeal in which the arguer diverts the listener from considering an argument's truth by appealing to the beliefs of the perceived majority.
ad populum
An appeal to fear the poor opinion of one or more person or to feel unreasonably bad about one's own behavior.
Appeal to Shame
You shouldn't go visit your mom today because you may hit a rock in the road while driving. If you hit that rock you will spin out of control and roll down a hill and be stranded. Then you may starve.
Worst-case Scenario
If you really want to be a good student, you should study for five hours every night. Anything less means you aren’t taking school seriously.
Appeal to Rigor
Daily Double
Give me an example of an Appeal to Shame.
Answers will vary.
A fallacy in which the speaker distracts the listener by attacking the arguer instead of the argument.
ad hominem
An appeal to act out of fear of predicted but unlikely bad outtcomes
Worst-case-scenario
You are the best friend ever. I tell everyone how amazing you are. You are so generous. You look absolutely beautiful, by the way. You should buy me some candy with your allowance money.
appeal to flattery
If you force students to wear collared shirts at school day, next month you'll be forcing them to wear identical gray jumpsuits! They'll become mindless robots!
Slippery Slope
Daily Double
Give me an example of an Appeal to Force.
Answers will vary.