The appeal to emotion, a logical fallacy, is an old ploy used when someone wants to get their way. Politicians are notorious for using an emotional appeal to sway voters. Remember this scary moment from “Cabaret?” While not an appeal to emotion, the clip certainly shows the power of emotional appeal:
In rhetoric, people use words in order to convince. Sometimes their words are logical, sometimes their words aren’t logical. Here are just a few “illogical” appeals to emotion that are commonly used by speakers in order to persuade.
The first is the appeal to consequences. An example might be, “Vote for proposition X. If X is approved, apples for everyone!”
Another is the appeal to fear. Here, an example might be, “Vote for proposition X. If you don’t, calamity will occur.”
Still another is the appeal to flattery. As in, “You have all the power, so I’m sure that you’ll make the right decision concerning proposition X.”
Yet another is the appeal to pity. As in, “Group A has done so much work on proposition X, it would be a shame if it were not approved.”
Still another is the appeal to ridicule. As in, “Surely those who do not support proposition X can’t be serious–and this is serious business!”
Yet another is the appeal to spite. As in, “You don’t want our opponents to succeed, do you? Then vote for proposition X.”
Finally, there is the appeal to ignorance. As in, “We don’t know what will happen if proposition X is not approved. But whatever it is, our gut tells us it won’t be good.”
When someone is trying to persuade you, listen carefully to their words. Avoid being swayed by appeals to emotion and ask yourself, “Does what I’m hearing make good sense?”
