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. ![]() |
1,510 Total Answer Attempts 46%
688 Correctly Popped Fallacies
822 Incorrectly Un/Popped


Most Common Responses82 - Appeal to the Consequences of a Belief 54 - Hasty Generalization 51 - Biased Generalization 43 - Appeal to Popularity 39 - Burden of Proof 39 - Appeal to Ridicule 36 - Appeal to Common Practice 35 - Appeal to Tradition 28 - Begging the Question 28 - Misleading Vividness 28 - Relativist Fallacy 27 - Poisoning the Well 24 - Fallacy of Composition 23 - Appeal to Novelty 22 - Red Herring 21 - Genetic Fallacy 21 - Circumstantial Ad Hominem 21 - Post Hoc 19 - Guilt by Association 18 - Appeal to Spite 17 - Fallacy of Division 16 - Middle Ground 15 - False Dilemma 15 - Appeal to Authority 13 - Gambler's Fallacy 13 - Confusing Cause and Effect 10 - Ad Hominem Tu Quoque 10 - Ad Hominem 9 - Slippery Slope 8 - Ignoring a Common Cause 8 - Peer Pressure 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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