Appeal to spite
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An appeal to spite (also called argumentum ad odium)[1] is a fallacy in which someone attempts to win favor for an argument by exploiting existing feelings of bitterness, spite, or schadenfreude in the opposing party.[2] It is an attempt to sway the audience emotionally by associating a hate-figure with opposition to the speaker's argument.
Fallacious ad hominem arguments which attack villains holding the opposing view are often confused with appeals to spite. The ad hominem can be a similar appeal to a negative emotion, but differs from it in directly criticizing the villain —that is unnecessary in an appeal to spite, where hatred for the villain is assumed.
[edit] Examples
- "If you vote for this tax cut, it will mean that the fat cats will get even more money to spend on their expensive luxury yachts, while you and I keep struggling to pay the bills."
- "Stop recycling! Aren't you tired of Hollywood celebrities preaching to everyone about saving the Earth?"
- "Why should a criminal be let free after 7 to 10 years if his victim is left to suffer for her whole life?"
[edit] References
- ^ Curtis, G. N.. "Emotional Appeal". http://www.fallacyfiles.org/emotiona.html. "Appeal to Hatred (AKA, Argumentum ad Odium)"
- ^ Ravi, K. R. (July 2006). "Thinking about fallacies and invalid arguments". Thinking About Thinking. p. 59. ISBN 978-8179925164. "You know how these top people are. They make fantastic sums of money, but the minute something goes wrong they make a scapegoat out of poor people like use" - The speaker tries to appeal to hatred, spite and other negative emotions in the listener.
