Appeal to emotion

Informal fallacies → Relevance / appeals

Appeal to emotion is when you try to win people over by making them feel sad, angry, proud, or outraged—instead of showing that the idea is actually right or the policy is actually best. Emotions can be appropriate, but they're not a substitute for argument. Making people feel strongly doesn't establish the truth or wisdom of a claim. The fallacy is to use emotion in place of evidence and reasoning.

Examples

  • Think of all the children who will suffer if we don't pass this law.

  • How can you sleep at night if you vote against this?

  • We owe it to our veterans to do this.

  • Imagine how you'd feel if it were your family.

  • This is an insult to everything we stand for.

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