Appeal to Emotion
Manipulating feelings in place of a valid reason to accept a conclusion.
- informal
An appeal to emotion substitutes feelings — pity, fear, pride, anger — for evidence or logic. The emotion may be genuine and even appropriate, but it does nothing to establish whether the conclusion is true; it merely makes the audience want it to be true.
Examples
- “You should give me a passing grade — if I fail, my parents will be devastated and I'll lose my scholarship.”
- “A true friend would lend me the money without asking all these questions.”
Why it works & how to counter
Persuasive because strong feelings crowd out scrutiny. Counter it by acknowledging the emotion, then asking what actual evidence supports the conclusion being pushed.