Duchess and Bruno share a moment of empathy - the Appeal to Emotion
What a badly timed ad...
Starving kittens is an important issue, but right before the game starts?!
Ban badly timed crisis ads with our Appeal to Emotion Activity Pack!Â
Appeal to Emotion in a Nutshell
The Appeal to Emotion doesn't give you a reason to believe something. It gives you a feeling instead - and then counts on that feeling doing the reasoning for you.
The starving kittens ad isn't wrong. The issue is real. But the ad isn't making an argument. It's manufacturing guilt at the precise moment Duchess and Bruno are at their least rational and most vulnerable - right before the game. The timing isn't accidental. It's the whole strategy.
That's the Appeal to Emotion. It doesn't prove anything. It just makes you feel too guilty, too scared, or too moved to ask whether the argument actually holds up.
See all 24 fallacies in What Are the Most Common Logical Fallacies?
If you would like to receive our weekly comics, plus regular fun freebies, updates and more, sign up to our weekly newsletter. Scroll down to subscribe.