Statement #o8 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. ![]() |
1,465 Total Answer Attempts 62%
915 Correctly Popped Fallacies
550 Incorrectly Un/Popped


Most Common Responses70 - Appeal to Fear 53 - Appeal to Emotion 40 - False Dilemma 31 - Appeal to Pity 25 - Confusing Cause and Effect 24 - Appeal to Belief 24 - Slippery Slope 21 - Relativist Fallacy 17 - Begging the Question 16 - Biased Generalization 16 - Gambler's Fallacy 15 - Red Herring 14 - Post Hoc 14 - Misleading Vividness 14 - Special Pleading 13 - Ignoring a Common Cause 12 - Burden of Proof 11 - Hasty Generalization 11 - Poisoning the Well 11 - Appeal to Popularity 11 - Fallacy of Division 10 - Appeal to Ridicule 8 - Fallacy of Composition 8 - Guilt by Association 8 - Circumstantial Ad Hominem 7 - Ad Hominem Tu Quoque 7 - Middle Ground 7 - Ad Hominem 6 - Appeal to Spite 5 - Genetic Fallacy 5 - Appeal to Authority 4 - Appeal to Novelty 4 - Appeal to Tradition 3 - Appeal to Common Practice 2 - Peer Pressure 2 - Personal Attack 1 - Appeal to Flattery |
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