Appeal to Emotion [#FallacyFridays]
Welcome to #FallacyFridays! Every Friday, I talk about logical fallacies in order for you to have better insight on what kind of arguments you shouldn’t make. Today’s fallacy is the appeal to emotion fallacy. It’s a popular one without a doubt. Keep on reading to get more insight on the fallacy and test your knowledge on it with the quiz at the end. 🤓
When I think of the appeal to emotion fallacy, my mind immediately goes to the imagery of a middle aged man crying and saying, “Won’t you think of the children?”
It also reminds me of those uncomfortable moments during dinner time when the TV would be on. And in comes some American woman on the TV saying, “For just a dollar a day, you can feed these African children” or something like that.
I say “something like that” because I don’t remember exactly what she said. I was too taken aback by the imagery of dark skinned Africans on the screen who looked like they could be my little cousins. But instead of sitting around the dinner table, stuffing their faces with plantain, beans, and veggies like I was, they were outside with flies all over their faces. With snot coming out of their noses. And the saddest facial expressions that made you want to hug them.
The imagery was powerful. It also still the primary imagery I noticed many Americans have when they think of Africa (which is incredibly unfortunate…but I digress).
Now, had that somber imagery stood alone, without any mention of the claimed benefits of their “help the poor children of Africa” charity, it would be the perfect example of the appeal to emotion fallacy.
The appeal to emotion fallacy occurs when someone tries to conclude that their argument is right by playing to emotions. Here, emotions are used in place of valid arguments.
Let’s look at some examples to understand how it works.
Example #1 of the appeal to emotion fallacy
Let’s revisit the middle-aged man crying, “Won’t you think of the children?” This hypothetical man is playing on the fact that children tend to be vulnerable. They are also more innocent and more helpless compared to adults. They work perfectly for the appeal to emotion fallacy.
Children are the perfect scapegoats for the appeal to emotion fallacy. Click To TweetSay this hypothetical man cries, “Won’t you think of the children” as an argument against a couple getting divorced. “There is no valid reason for divorce,” he shrieks.
No doubt a divorce will be a huge adjustment for the children and may even result in some emotional trauma. But does this mean that a divorce is unjustified? Nah, not necessarily. Here, “Won’t you think of the children” is not an invitation to think of the disastrous effects the divorce might have on the children. (If it were, this wouldn’t be an appeal to emotion since the consideration of the effects on the children is absolutely relevant.) Instead, this man, with tears in his eyes and this question on his lips, is playing to the emotions of the parents since the man in question believes there is no excuse for divorce.
Example #2 of the fallacy
Let’s say that Haley senior in high school who got accepted to two of the universities she was interested in. However she’s having a hard time choosing which one to go for. She looks at the brochure of one school and notices that the students on it seem friendly. Not bad.
But then she looks at the brochure of the other school and the students there look like they are having the time of their lives. She quickly imagines herself among them, hands raised with a fuchsia and white tie dye shirt and glow stick necklaces around her neck. Jamming to the dance music she can practically hear blaring out of the giant black speakers on the brochure. The student life events at this school must be the stuff of dreams.
And so she chooses the second school. In fact, she goes even further to conclude that it is better than the first school. Why? Because of how it made her feel when she looked at their brochures.
Not because of superior academics. Or their top-notch resources they have for career development. But because of how the imagery made her feel. She clearly used the appeal to emotion fallacy in her choice.
Now it’s easy to scoff at Haley’s decision-making. But we fall for it all the time. Advertising plays heavily on getting us to make decisions based on appeal to emotion. All it takes is for the opportunity to present itself in a situation in which we are emotionally invested.
An common misconception about the appeal to emotion fallacy.
Here’s what a number of people get wrong about the appeal to emotion fallacy:
They assume that if emotion is present, it is automatically a logical fallacy. But that is not necessarily the case.
First of all, an argument has to actually be made. For example, if I say tell you how depressing a movie was when I watched it, I’m not making an argument. I’m only telling you how I feel.
Second of all, even when argument is made, someone can have a perfectly reasonable explanation for why they feel the way they do. For example, say you are dealing with a friend who always bails on your plans and you tell them, “To be honest, I would rather not plan this trip with you. You have a habit of bailing on me and it ruins my personal plans. The inconvenience only makes me feel frustrated.” There is no appeal to emotion here since the frustration is very relevant to the repeated inconvenience caused by your inconsiderate friend.
An expression of emotion is not automatically the appeal of emotion at play. Click To TweetQuiz time!
And now for the quiz! Below are 4 answer choices. Which one contains the appeal to emotion fallacy?
A. My uncle passed died tragically in an accident. It was so sudden and all of us are so distraught. It’s a difficult time for us.
B. I’m going to absolutely ruin his life so bad he’ll wish he was never born.
C. You are making a terrible decision going on that trip. Yes, you’re a grown adult and you’re the one paying for the trip. And I get that you let Dad know beforehand. But he’s going to miss you and that’s not right to make him feel that way. Please don’t go.
D. I’m soooo freaking excited to reunite with my best friend! It’s been years since we’ve seen each other. I’ve missed her so much!
Wanna see if your answer choice was correct? Want the explanation behind the correct answer choice? Get FREE access to the Fallacy Fridays Answer Key and be notified of all future Fallacy Fridays posts, quizzes, and answer explanations!
