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Logical  Fallacy: a error in reasoning
  (adj)     (noun)

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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.
God must exist! If God did not exist, then all basis for morality would be lost and the world would be a horrible place!
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:

#1: X is true because if people did not accept X as being true, then there would be negative consequences.
#2: X is false because if people did not accept X as being false, then there would be negative consequences.

#3: X is true because accepting that X is true has positive consequences.
#4: X is false because accepting that X is false has positive consequences.

#5: I wish that X were true, therefore X is true. This is known as Wishful Thinking.
#6: I wish that X were false, therefore X is false. This is known as Wishful Thinking.

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.

Click For Fallacy Description

 1,524 Total Answer Attempts   67%
 1,018 Correctly Popped Fallacies
 506 Incorrectly Un/Popped
( Random Image )

Most Common Responses

 
1,018 - Appeal to the Consequences of a Belief
54 - 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

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* Fallacious statements are usually paired with a random image of a person who never spoke those words.
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