Appeal to pity: Difference between revisions

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{{Short description|Type of logical fallacy}}
{{more citations needed|date=April 2011}}
{{more citations needed|date=April 2011}}
An '''appeal to pity''' (also called '''''argumentum ad misericordiam''''', the '''sob story''', or '''the [[Galileo Galilei|Galileo]] argument''')<ref>{{cite web|url=http://changingminds.org/disciplines/argument/fallacies/appeal_pity.htm|title=Appeal to Pity|website=changingminds.org}}</ref><ref name=Appeal>{{cite web|title=Appeal to Pity (the Galileo Argument)|url=http://mason.gmu.edu/~cmcgloth/portfolio/fallacies/appealpity.html|access-date=6 October 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131129092139/http://mason.gmu.edu/~cmcgloth/portfolio/fallacies/appealpity.html|archive-date=29 November 2013|url-status=dead}}</ref> is a [[fallacy]] in which someone tries to win support for an argument or idea by exploiting his or her opponent's feelings of pity or guilt. It is a specific kind of [[appeal to emotion]]. The name "Galileo argument" refers to the scientist's suffering as a result of his house arrest by the Inquisition.
An '''appeal to [[pity]]''' (also called '''''argumentum ad misericordiam''''', the '''sob story''', or '''the [[Galileo Galilei|Galileo]] argument''')<ref>{{cite web|url=http://changingminds.org/disciplines/argument/fallacies/appeal_pity.htm|title=Appeal to Pity|website=changingminds.org}}</ref><ref name=Appeal>{{cite web|title=Appeal to Pity (the Galileo Argument)|url=http://mason.gmu.edu/~cmcgloth/portfolio/fallacies/appealpity.html|access-date=6 October 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131129092139/http://mason.gmu.edu/~cmcgloth/portfolio/fallacies/appealpity.html|archive-date=29 November 2013|url-status=dead}}</ref> is a [[fallacy]] in which someone tries to win support for an argument or idea by exploiting one's opponent's feelings of pity or guilt. It is a specific kind of [[appeal to emotion]]. The name "Galileo argument" refers to the scientist's suffering as a result of his house arrest by the Inquisition.


==Examples==
==Examples==
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==See also==
==See also==
* [[Appeal to consequences]]
* [[Appeal to consequences]]
* [[Think of the children]]


==Notes==
==Notes==

Latest revision as of 08:10, 7 November 2023

An appeal to pity (also called argumentum ad misericordiam, the sob story, or the Galileo argument)[1][2] is a fallacy in which someone tries to win support for an argument or idea by exploiting one's opponent's feelings of pity or guilt. It is a specific kind of appeal to emotion. The name "Galileo argument" refers to the scientist's suffering as a result of his house arrest by the Inquisition.

Examples[edit]

  • "You must have graded my exam incorrectly. I studied very hard for weeks specifically because I knew my career depended on getting a good grade. If you give me a failing grade I'm ruined!"
  • "Ladies and gentlemen of the jury, look at this miserable man, in a wheelchair, unable to use his legs. Could such a man really be guilty of embezzlement?"

See also[edit]

Notes[edit]

  1. ^ "Appeal to Pity". changingminds.org.
  2. ^ "Appeal to Pity (the Galileo Argument)". Archived from the original on 29 November 2013. Retrieved 6 October 2012.