Argumentum ad baculum

Argumentum ad baculum (Latin: argument to the cudgel or appeal to the stick), also known as appeal to force, is an argument where force, coercion, or the threat of force, is given as a justification for a conclusion. It is a specific case of the negative form of an argument to the consequences.

As a logical argument

A fallacious logical argument based on argumentum ad baculum generally has the following argument form:

If x does not accept P as true, then Q.

Q is a punishment on x.

Therefore, P is true.

In other words, This is right because if you do not believe it, you will be beaten up.

This form of argument is a logical fallacy, because the attack Q may not necessarily reveal anything about the truth value of the premise P. This fallacy has been identified since the Middle Ages by many philosophers. This is a special case of argumentum ad consequentiam, or "appeal to consequences".

Examples

• "Everybody knows that communism is bad. Senator Joseph McCarthy is hunting communists down. If I dissented from his policy, I'd be supporting communism, and therefore I'd be anti-American. I am a good American citizen, therefore McCarthy's policy is correct.'" x is a citizen of the United States, anti-communism is P, and unwarranted arrest and imprisonment, or other extra-legal state-sponsored attack is Q.
• "I don't remember owing you any money. If I do not pay this supposed debt, you will beat me up and hurt my family. Therefore I do owe you some money."
• "You should believe in God, because if you do not, you will go to Hell."

As a non-logical argument

A similar but non-logical argument has roughly the following form:

If x does not accept P as true, then Q.

Q is a punishment on x.

Therefore, x should accept P to avoid Q.

This is not a logical argument, but a rhetorical one. The truth of the conclusion, which addresses the benefit of a course of action, cannot be determined from the truth of the premises. Logic does not address subjective concepts such as practicality or ethics.

Examples

• "I support the war: if I did not, I would be ostracized from the community"

Youth in the United States who opposed the Vietnam War were told that they should not hold such a view, because they would face discrimination from potential employers. While this argument provides a reason to keep an anti-war opinion private, it does not address whether an anti-war stance is logically correct or incorrect.

See also

• Appeal to consequences
• Appeal to emotion
• Logical fallacy
• Conformity
• Bullying

External links

• About.com article on Argumentum ad Baculum