Appeal to fear:
Emotional Fallacy
| Definition | Example |
| When fear is employed as a reason to hold to a particular conclusion. | If you don’t vote her into office, terrorism will accelerate, and our great nation will fall. |
| Notes | |
| Appealing to fear works. You won’t find many open atheists in countries where atheism warrants the death penalty. Fear has long been co-opted to initiate wars and oppressive laws. | |
Case Study One
Many religions claim that if you don’t believe their “loving” god is the true god, you will be tortured forever.
Case Study Two
The frequent mention of death is what compels many cancer patients to accept the mendacious claims of snake-oil salesmen.
Keep in mind that a fallacious argument does not entail an erroneous position.
