Statement #o14 Discussion
1 comment (1 thead) All Discussions | Below is the statement as it appears with the fallacy marked as correct. You can see the totals of most frequent responses to this statement. And after reading the any discussion going on below, you can select your choice(s) for the correct answer. For now, whoever posts each statement can update corrections. |


Appeal to Belief
Category: Fallacies of Relevance (Red Herrings) Appeal to Belief is a fallacy that has this general pattern:
There are, however, some cases when the fact that many people accept a claim as true is an indication that it is true. For example, while you are visiting Maine, you are told by several people that they believe that people older than 16 need to buy a fishing license in order to fish. Barring reasons to doubt these people, their statements give you reason to believe that anyone over 16 will need to buy a fishing license. There are also cases in which what people believe actually determines the truth of a claim. For example, the truth of claims about manners and proper behavior might simply depend on what people believe to be good manners and proper behavior. Another example is the case of community standards, which are often taken to be the standards that most people accept. In some cases, what violates certain community standards is taken to be obscene. In such cases, for the claim "x is obscene" to be true is for most people in that community to believe that x is obscene. In such cases it is still prudent to question the justification of the individual beliefs. ![]() |
1,382 Total Answer Attempts 46%
630 Correctly Popped Fallacies
752 Incorrectly Un/Popped


Most Common Responses76 - Appeal to the Consequences of a Belief 49 - Hasty Generalization 49 - Biased Generalization 38 - Appeal to Popularity 37 - Appeal to Ridicule 35 - Appeal to Tradition 34 - Burden of Proof 32 - Appeal to Common Practice 26 - Poisoning the Well 25 - Begging the Question 24 - Misleading Vividness 24 - Relativist Fallacy 22 - Appeal to Novelty 21 - Red Herring 21 - Circumstantial Ad Hominem 21 - Fallacy of Composition 20 - Genetic Fallacy 18 - Guilt by Association 17 - Post Hoc 16 - Fallacy of Division 15 - Appeal to Authority 13 - Middle Ground 13 - Gambler's Fallacy 12 - False Dilemma 12 - Confusing Cause and Effect 10 - Ad Hominem Tu Quoque 10 - Appeal to Spite 9 - Slippery Slope 9 - Ad Hominem 8 - Peer Pressure 7 - Ignoring a Common Cause 7 - Appeal to Flattery 5 - Appeal to Fear 5 - Special Pleading 5 - Appeal to Emotion 4 - Personal Attack 3 - Appeal to Pity |
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Not Applicable?
Correct me if I'm wrong, but wouldn't this not fall under the logical fallacy of "Appeal to Belief"? My understanding is that Appeal to Belief occurs when you have a generalized statement of the populous and then an agreement with said statement. In this sentence, he's just stating a fact.
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