Logical Fallacies, Part 17: Appeal to Prestige

The logical fallacy of appeal to prestige is an inappropriate reference to the reputation of a subject to support an argument. Examples:

Dr. Cohen’s Ph.D. certainly qualifies him to assess the quality of the architectural scope of work. [His Ph.D. is in biochemistry, not building design.]

The President’s endorsement is reason enough to vote for Bill HR2006. [The Bill may have the endorsement of only the members of one political party.]

The shoes have to be good—they’re made in Italy. [While Italian shoes have an excellent reputation, they may not all be necessarily good.]


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Logical Fallacies, Part 16: Appeal to Pity

The appeal to pity as a logical fallacy occurs when the writer uses pity and not the merits of a case to persuade the audience. We need more than pity to argue our point. Examples:

We should select Ms. Tosca over Mr. Rodriguez for the promotion because as a single parent she needs the money more than he does.

The financial analysts need our attention because the previous CEO disregarded their input.


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Logical Fallacies, Part 15: Appeal to Force

The appeal to force argument uses coercion for its justification. It is akin to the "might makes right" statement--a sure way to lose credibility with your readers. Examples:

Comply with this new security procedure if you want to keep your job.

Our justification for selling the franchise is that the Board of Directors wanted us to do it.


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Logical Fallacies, Part 14: Straw Man

Setting up a straw man in an argument mischaracterizes an opposing viewpoint by falsely attributing to it an easily refutable position. Examples:

I’d rather not give the client the additional samples she requested. If we give her more, then we’ll have to give them to all our clients.

The CEO wants to move our office from New York to Philadelphia. I suppose he's thinking, "smaller city, smaller business opportunities."

The first example can also be seen as a hasty generalization (see September 9 entry) and the second as a false analogy (see September 23 entry).


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