Appeal to pity

From Free net encyclopedia

An appeal to pity (also called argumentum ad misericordiam) is a logical fallacy in which someone tries to win support for their argument or idea by exploiting their opponent's feelings of pity or guilt. The appeal to pity is a specific kind of appeal to emotion. Some examples are:

• "I hope you like my proposal. It took me six years to write and I don't know what I'd do if you rejected it."
• "I hope you find the defendant not guilty of embezzlement. Just look at the poor guy, he's in a wheelchair. Show some sympathy!"

These examples are not necessarily wrong. The proposal may be worthy, and the client may not be guilty of embezzlement. As with all logical fallacies, these ideas may be right; they just aren't right for the reason stated.

See also

• Appeal to forceca:Apel·lació a la llàstima

he:אד_מיסריקורדיאם uk:Argumentum ad Misericordiam lt:Apeliavimas į gailestį