Appeal to emotion

Appeal to emotion is a logical fallacy. It happens when the argument is designed to trigger an emotional response instead of giving reasons. An example of this would be "we have to donate to charity X; think of the children!", where instead of giving a reason why we should donate to charity, an emotive trigger is used instead- "think of the children". It is also called argumentum ad passiones or appeal to feeling.

Aristotle recognized that if you triggered someone's emotions, they were easier to persuade. He said this in his book, Rhetoric.Aristotle, Rhetorica I, II.5.“The Influence of Emotions on Beliefs”, Nico Frijda, Antony Manstead and Sasha Bem in Emotions and Beliefs, Cambridge University Press, 2000, p.1.

References

Category:Logical fallacies