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. ![]() |
1,524 Total Answer Attempts 67%
1,018 Correctly Popped Fallacies
506 Incorrectly Un/Popped


Most Common Responses54 - Appeal to Belief 49 - Appeal to Fear 34 - Begging the Question 33 - False Dilemma 31 - Appeal to Emotion 27 - Confusing Cause and Effect 25 - Slippery Slope 23 - Hasty Generalization 18 - Biased Generalization 16 - Red Herring 14 - Relativist Fallacy 14 - Burden of Proof 13 - Appeal to Tradition 11 - Appeal to Authority 10 - Fallacy of Division 10 - Special Pleading 10 - Appeal to Pity 9 - Poisoning the Well 9 - Ad Hominem Tu Quoque 9 - Misleading Vividness 9 - Circumstantial Ad Hominem 9 - Personal Attack 8 - Post Hoc 7 - Ad Hominem 7 - Genetic Fallacy 6 - Gambler's Fallacy 6 - Ignoring a Common Cause 6 - Fallacy of Composition 6 - Appeal to Spite 6 - Appeal to Novelty 5 - Appeal to Common Practice 3 - Appeal to Ridicule 3 - Guilt by Association 2 - Appeal to Flattery 2 - Middle Ground 2 - Appeal to Popularity |
+ |
Login - High Scores - About - Trivium - Links - Contact
Donate To DontFallacy.Me - Support Dr. Labossiere
* Fallacious statements are usually paired with a random image of a person who never spoke those words.
This free site is for educational purposes, studying intellectual dishonesty. The images are being used under fair use. Sunflower by robstephaustrali.