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Appeal to Force/Fear - Argumentum ad Baculum
The Appeal to Force
This fallacy occurs when a person makes a threat of physical or psychological violence against others if they refuse to accept the conclusions offered. It can also happen when a person claims that accepting a conclusion or idea will lead to harm or disaster.
Children are more prone to this fallacy when they say, "If you don't agree, I'll punish you!"
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An Examples of the Appeal to Force
Adults use the fallacy more subtly.
"If you don't support the spending bill to develop better airplanes, our enemies will think we are weak and will attack us at some point, killing millions." The person offering this argument is using psychological pressure to get agreement. There is no apparent connection between "our enemies" and the conclusion that it will be in the country's best interest.
SIMILAR ARTICLES & IDEAS:
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Logical Fallacies
Logic is fundamental to most of humanity’s knowledge, but there are common fallacies in logic and reasoning, errors of judgement which happen due to:
- Our assumptions based on what we...
Correlation And Causation
If two incidents or things happen at around the same time does not mean that one thing is the result of the other. Often many things occur at the same time yet are completely unrelated.
A correlation of data, like:
1) Increase in social media usage, and
2) Increase in anxiety and depression
does not mean that one set of data is caused by the other.
The Slippery Slope
The Slippery Slope fallacy is a mistaken belief that one relatively mild unaddressed problem or allowance will automatically lead to other negative consequences.
The mind races on to the next negative consequence like a downward spiral, creating fear and anxiety.
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Begging the question
Begging the question is an example of a fallacy of presumption, also known as a circular argument: The conclusion appears at the beginning and the end of the argument. ...
Begging the question example
"The law says you should drive on the right side of the road, and the law is the law."
When someone is questioning this statement, they are questioning the law. If we say, "because that is the law," we are begging the question. We are assuming the validity of what the other person is questioning.
Structure of circular reasoning
The most simple form of begging the question: A is true because A is true.
Circular reasoning can also be a bit longer:
- A is true because B is true, and B is true because A is true.
- A is true because B is true, and B is true because C is true. C is correct because A is true.
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Hypostatization
Hypostatization is also known as Concretism, or Reification and is a fallacy of ambiguity, where an abstract belief is treated as if it’s real and concrete.
It involves giv...
Personifying The Abstract
The Hypostatization Fallacy can be explained by studying the following statement: “The government has a hand in everybody's business and another in every person's pocket. By limiting such governmental pickpocketing, we can limit its incursions on our freedom.”
This assumes that the government is a person, having desires like humans, and can ‘loot’ us like a robber. The fact that is ignored is that the Government is not an entity by itself, but a collection of people. The metaphor of ‘pickpocketing’ also conjures a visual image of a pickpocket, evoking an emotional reaction.
When Metaphors Become Fallacies
Metaphors can become fallacies as they are taken too far, used too often, or understood mistakenly in the literal sense.
How we describe anything is very powerful as words and language can create lasting impressions in our minds. Language creates a smokescreen that interferes with our impression of reality.