pathos fallacy

Argument to the People (Appealing to Stirring Symbols)

This is perhaps the most generic example of a pathos fallacy. Arguments to the people appeal to the fundamental beliefs, biases, and prejudices of the audience in order to sway opinion through a feeling of solidarity among those of the group. Thus a “Support Our Troops” bumper sticker, often including the American flag, creates an initial feeling of solidarity among almost all citizens of goodwill. But the car owner may have the deeper intention of actually meaning “support our president” or “support the war in ______.” The stirring symbol of the flag and the desire shared by most people to support our troops is used fallaciously to urge support of a particular political act. Arguments to the people often use visual rhetoric, as in the soaring eagle used in Wal-Mart corporate ads or images of happy families in marketing advertisements.

Appeal to Ignorance

This fallacy persuades an audience to accept as true a claim that hasn’t been proved false or vice versa. “Jones must have used steroids to get those bulging biceps because he can’t prove that he hasn’t used steroids.” Appeals to ignorance are particularly common in the murky field of pseudoscience. “UFOs (ghosts, abominable snowmen) do exist because science hasn’t proved that they don’t exist.” Sometimes, however, it is hard to draw a line between a fallacious appeal to ignorance and a legitimate appeal to precaution: “Genetically modified organisms may be dangerous to our health because science hasn’t proved that they are safe.”

Appeal to Popularity—Bandwagon

To board the bandwagon means (to use a more contemporary metaphor) to board the bus or train of what’s popular. Appeals to popularity are fallacious because the popularity of something is irrelevant to its actual merits. “Living together before marriage is the right thing to do because most couples are now doing it.” Bandwagon appeals are common in advertising where the claim that a product is popular substitutes for evidence of the product’s excellence. There are times, however, when popularity may indeed be relevant: “Global warming is probably caused by human activity because a preponderance of scientists now hold this position.” (Here we assume that scientists haven’t simply climbed on a bandwagon themselves, but have formed their opinions based on research data and well-vetted, peer-reviewed papers.)

Appeal to Pity

Here the arguer appeals to the audience’s sympathetic feelings in order to support a claim that should be decided on more relevant or objective grounds. “Honorable judge, I should not be fined $200 for speeding because I was distraught from hearing news of my brother’s illness and was rushing to see him in the hospital.”  Here the argument is fallacious because the arguer’s reason, while evoking sympathy, is not a relevant justification for speeding (as it might have been, for instance, if the arguer had been rushing an injured person to the emergency room). In many cases, however, an arguer can legitimately appeal to pity, as in the case of fund-raising for victims of a tsunami or other disaster.

Red Herring

This fallacy’s funny name derives from the practice of using a red herring (a highly odiferous fish) to throw dogs off a scent that they are supposed to be tracking. It refers to the practice of throwing an audience offtrack by raising an unrelated or irrelevant point. “Debating a gas tax increase is valuable, but I really think there should be an extra tax on SUVs.” Here the arguer, apparently uncomfortable with the gas tax issue, diverts the conversation to the emotionally charged issue of owning SUVs. A conversant who noted how the argument has gotten offtrack might say, “Stop talking, everyone. The SUV question is a red herring; let’s get back to the topic of a gas tax increase.”

Fallacies of Ethos

Appeal to False Authority

Arguers appeal to false authority when they use famous people (often movie stars or other celebrities) to testify on issues about which these persons have no special competence. “Joe Quarterback says Gooey Oil keeps his old tractor running sharp; therefore, Gooey Oil is a good oil.” Real evidence about the quality of Gooey Oil would include technical data about the product rather than testimony from an actor or hired celebrity. However, the distinction between a “false authority” and a legitimate authority can become blurred. For example, in the early years of advertising for drugs that treat erectile dysfunction, Viagra hired former senator and presidential hopeful Bob Dole to help market the drug. (You can see his commercials on YouTube.) As a famous person rather than a doctor, Dole would seem to be a false authority. But Dole was also widely known to have survived prostate cancer, and he may well have used Viagra. To the extent a person is an expert in a field, he or she is no longer a “false authority.”

Ad Hominem

Literally, ad hominem means “to the person.” An ad hominem argument is directed at the character of an opponent rather than at the quality of the opponent’s reasoning. Ideally, arguments are supposed to be ad rem (“to the thing”), that is, addressed to the specifics of the case itself. Thus an ad rem critique of a politician would focus on her voting record, the consistency and cogency of her public statements, her responsiveness to constituents, and so forth. An ad hominem argument would shift attention from her record to features of her personality, life circumstances, or the company she keeps. “Senator Sweetwater’s views on the gas tax should be discounted because her husband works for a huge oil company” or “Senator Sweetwater supports tax cuts for the wealthy because she is very wealthy herself and stands to gain.” But not all ad hominem arguments are ad hominem fallacies. Lawyers, for example, when questioning expert witnesses who give damaging testimony, often make an issue of their honesty, credibility, or personal investment in an outcome.

Poisoning the Well

This fallacy is closely related to ad hominem. Arguers poison the well when they discredit an opponent or an opposing view in advance. “Before I yield the floor to the next speaker, I must remind you that those who oppose my plan do not have the best interests of working people in their hearts.”

Straw Man

The straw man fallacy occurs when you oversimplify an opponent’s argument to make it easier to refute or ridicule. Rather than summarizing an opposing view fairly and completely, you basically make up the argument you wish your opponent had made because it is so much easier to knock over, like knocking over a straw man or scarecrow in a corn field. See pages 125–126 for an example of a straw man argument.

Fallacies of Logos

Hasty Generalization

This fallacy occurs when someone makes a broad generalization on the basis of too little evidence. Generally, the evidence needed to support a generalization persuasively must meet the STAR criteria (sufficiency, typicality, accuracy, and relevance) discussed in Chapter 5 (pages 92–93). But what constitutes a sufficient amount of evidence? The generally accepted standards of sufficiency in any given field are difficult to determine. The Food and Drug Administration (FDA), for example, generally proceeds cautiously before certifying a drug as “safe.” However, if people are harmed by the side effects of an FDA-approved drug, critics often accuse the FDA of having made a hasty generalization. At the same time, patients eager to have access to a new drug and manufacturers eager to sell a new product may lobby the FDA to quit “dragging its feet” and get the drug to market. Hence, the point at which a hasty generalization passes over into the realm of a prudent generalization is nearly always uncertain and contested.

Part for the Whole

Sometimes called by its Latin name pars pro toto, this fallacy is closely related to hasty generalization. In this fallacy, arguers pick out a part of the whole or a sample of the whole (often not a typical or representative part or sample) and then claim that what is true of the part is true for the whole. If, say, individuals wanted to get rid of the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA), they might focus on several controversial programs funded by the NEA and use them as justification for wiping out all NEA programs. The flip side of this fallacy occurs when an arguer picks only the best examples to make a case and conveniently forgets about examples that may weaken the case.

Post Hoc, Ergo Propter Hoc

The Latin name of this fallacy means “after this, therefore because of this.” The fallacy occurs when a sequential relationship is mistaken for a causal relationship. (See Chapter 12, page 259, where we discuss this fallacy in more depth.) For example, you may be guilty of this fallacy if you say, “Cramming for a test really helps because last week I crammed for my psychology test and I got an A on it.” When two events occur frequently in conjunction with each other, we’ve got a good case for a causal relationship. But until we can show how one causes the other and until we have ruled out other causes, we cannot be certain that a causal relationship is occurring. For example, the A on your psych test may have been caused by something other than  your cramming. Maybe the exam was easier, or perhaps you were luckier or more mentally alert. It is often difficult to tell when a post hoc fallacy occurs. When the New York police department changed its policing tactics in the early 1990s, the crime rate plummeted. But did the new policing tactics cause the drop in the crime rate? Many experts suggested other clauses, including economist Steven Levitt, who attributes the declining crime rate to the legalization of abortion in the 1970s (and hence to a decline in unwanted children who might grow up to be criminals).

Begging the Question—Circular Reasoning

Arguers beg the question when they provide a reason that simply restates the claim in different words. Here is an example: “Abortion is murder because it is the intentional taking of the life of a human being.” Because “murder” is defined as “the intentional taking of the life of a human being,” the argument is circular. It is tantamount to saying, “Abortion is murder because it is murder.” In the abortion debate, the crucial issue is whether a fetus is a “human being” in the legal sense. So in this case the arguer has fallaciously “begged the question” by assuming from the start that the fetus is a legal human being. The argument is similar to saying, “That person is obese because he is too fat.”

False Dilemma—Either/Or

This fallacy occurs when an arguer oversimplifies a complex issue so that only two choices appear possible. Often one of the choices is made to seem unacceptable, so the only remaining option is the other choice. “It’s my way or the highway” is a typical example of a false dilemma. Here is a more subtle one: “Either we allow embryonic stem cell research, or we condemn people with diabetes, Parkinson’s disease, or spinal injuries to a life without a cure.” Clearly, there may be other options, including other approaches to curing these diseases. A good extended example of the false dilemma fallacy is found in sociologist Kai Erikson’s analysis of President Truman’s decision to drop the A-bomb on Hiroshima. His analysis suggests that the Truman administration prematurely reduced numerous options to just two: either drop the bomb on a major city, or sustain unacceptable losses in a land invasion of Japan. Erikson, however, shows there were other alternatives.

Slippery Slope

The slippery slope fallacy is based on the fear that once we put a foot on a slippery slope heading in the wrong direction, we’re doomed to slide right out of sight. The controlling metaphor is of a slick mountainside without places to hold on rather than of a staircase with numerous stopping places. Here is an example of a slippery slope: “Once we allow app-based ride services to compete with regular taxi companies, we will destroy the taxi business and the livelihood of immigrant taxi drivers. Soon anyone who wants to pose as a ride service will be able to do so, using uninspected vehicles and untrained drivers, leading to more accidents and crimes against passengers.” Slippery slope arguments are frequently encountered when individuals request exceptions to bureaucratic rules: “Look, Blotnik, no one feels worse about your need for open-heart surgery than I do. But I still can’t let you turn this paper in late. If I were to let you do it, then I’d have to let everyone turn in papers late.” Slippery slope arguments can be very persuasive—and often rightfully so because every slippery slope argument isn’t necessarily a slippery slope fallacy. Some slopes really are slippery. The slippery slope becomes a fallacy when we forget  that we can often dig a foothold into the slope and stop. For example, we can define procedures for exceptions to rules so that Blotnik can turn in his paper late without allowing everyone to turn in a paper late. Likewise, a state could legalize app-based ride services, but regulate them to prevent a complete slide down the slope.

False Analogy

In Chapter 11 on definition and resemblance arguments, we explained that no analogy is perfect (see our discussion of analogies on pages 225–226). Any two things being compared are similar in some ways and different in other ways. Whether an analogy is persuasive or false often depends on the audience’s initial degree of skepticism. For example, people opposed to gun control may find the following argument persuasive: “Banning guns on the basis that guns accidentally kill people is like banning cars on the basis that cars accidentally kill people.” In contrast, supporters of gun control are likely to call this argument a false analogy on the basis of dissimilarities between cars and guns. (For example, they might say that banning cars would be far more disruptive on our society than would be banning guns.) Just when a persuasive analogy turns into a false analogy is difficult to say.