Fallacies 41must be refuted on the basis of it validity according to the facts.
b) Argumentum ad miseracordium: This fallacy ignores the
evidence and attempts to divert attention from the facts to
another issue which will evoke sympathy, pity, or any other
emotion which will enhance the position of the arguer. When a
student asks a teacher to change his grade to an “A” because if
he doesn’t get the “A” he will be rejected by the college his
parents want him to attend, that’s an appeal to pity and never
addresses the question of why the student got the lower grade in
the first place. Or, perhaps more important, the student’s appeal
does not address the question of why he should get the “A” when
in fact he hasn’t earned an “A”. There are some very valid
arguments a student can make which would justify the change,
but those arguments must have merit in substance, not emotion.
c) Argumentum ad baculum: When the threat of force,
coercion, intimidation, or other strong words are used in place of
a reasoned argument, then the fallacy of ad baculum is operative.
When a parent tells his child that he’d better clean his room or
he’ll be spanked—ad baculum. Or a more subtle example occurs
when an employer mentions to an employee that the road to
promotion is open to those who do not belong to the union, or
when an employee mentions to an employer that the next pay
raise had better be large or there just might be a strike.
d) Argumentum ad vericundium: This is an appeal to prestige.
This fallacy occurs, when to gain acceptance of an idea, a
product, or a position, one tries by association to link up with a
prestigious person or institution. One sees this fallacy in opera
tion most frequently when celebrities endorse products and the
public is asked to purchase the product, not because there has
been any demonstrated superiority of the product, but simply
because the celebrity has commented favorably on it. Celebrities
who campaign for political candidates are using public recogni
tion and acceptance to convince others to vote for a particular
person. If the celebrity says, “Vote for this man. I know him.
He’s a good person, and I intend to vote for him for the good of
the country,” that’s an ad vericundium argument. If the celebrity
makes a cogent argument, speaks to the issues, and presents the
facts, and on that basis, convinces - then the argument that is
advanced is not tainted by the ad vericundium fallacy.
e) Argumentum adpopulum: This fallacy is an appeal to the