Statement #o6 Discussion
0 comments 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 the Consequences of a Belief
Argumentum Ad Consequentium Category: Fallacies of Relevance (Red Herrings) → Distracting Appeals The Appeal to the Consequences of a Belief is a fallacy that comes in the following patterns: This line of "reasoning" is fallacious because the consequences of a belief have no bearing on whether the belief is true or false. For example, if someone were to say "If sixteen-headed purple unicorns don't exist, then I would be miserable, so they must exist", it would be clear that this would not be a good line of reasoning. It is important to note that the consequences in question are the consequences that stem from the belief. It is important to distinguish between a rational reason to believe (RRB) (evidence) and a prudential reason to believe (PRB) (motivation). A RRB is evidence that objectively and logically supports the claim. A PRB is a reason to accept the belief because of some external factor (such as fear, a threat, or a benefit or harm that may stem from the belief) that is relevant to what a person values but is not relevant to the truth or falsity of the claim. The nature of the fallacy is especially clear in the case of Wishful thinking. Obviously, merely wishing that something is true does not make it true. This fallacy differs from the Appeal to Belief fallacy in that the Appeal to Belief involves taking a claim that most people believe that X is true to be evidence for X being true. ![]() |
1,253 Total Answer Attempts 67%
845 Correctly Popped Fallacies
408 Incorrectly Un/Popped


Most Common Responses48 - Appeal to Belief 42 - Appeal to Fear 29 - Appeal to Emotion 27 - False Dilemma 25 - Begging the Question 24 - Confusing Cause and Effect 20 - Hasty Generalization 18 - Slippery Slope 15 - Biased Generalization 12 - Red Herring 11 - Relativist Fallacy 10 - Appeal to Tradition 10 - Burden of Proof 9 - Poisoning the Well 9 - Personal Attack 8 - Misleading Vividness 8 - Special Pleading 8 - Appeal to Authority 7 - Fallacy of Division 7 - Circumstantial Ad Hominem 7 - Appeal to Pity 6 - Post Hoc 6 - Ad Hominem Tu Quoque 6 - Genetic Fallacy 5 - Gambler's Fallacy 5 - Ignoring a Common Cause 5 - Fallacy of Composition 4 - Appeal to Common Practice 4 - Appeal to Novelty 3 - Ad Hominem 3 - Appeal to Spite 3 - Appeal to Ridicule 2 - Guilt by Association 1 - Appeal to Flattery 1 - Middle Ground |
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