Don't get tricked.
Appeal to emotion: a feeling instead of a reason.
The internet is lying to you, and then you repeat it. This is the trick it uses most, and it's the easiest one to catch once you know the move.
Someone hands you a feeling and hopes you don't notice there was supposed to be a reason.The feeling is usually real. That's what makes it work. It's a trick when the feeling is doing the job a reason should be doing. @heykayandco
Under a minute. The long version is below.
Here's what the video says, written out, because some of you read faster than you watch.
What it is
A reason is something you could check. A feeling is something you have. Appeal to emotion is when someone gives you the second one and acts like it was the first one.
It works because feelings are fast. You feel sad or scared or angry before you've finished reading the sentence, and once you feel it, the claim attached to it rides in for free. You didn't agree with anything. You just felt something and kept scrolling, and now it's in your head as if you'd decided it.
Nobody is immune to this. I'm not. The goal isn't to stop feeling things. The goal is to notice the swap.
What it sounds like at home
"Eat your vegetables. There are kids who would love to have those."
The feeling: guilt. The missing reason: why vegetables are good for the kid at this table. There's a fine reason. It just wasn't the one that got used.
"Everyone will laugh at me if I don't have those shoes."
The feeling: fear of being embarrassed. The missing reason: anything about the shoes. A reason would be about the shoes.
"If you loved me you'd let me go."
The feeling: the fear of being a bad parent. The missing reason: who's going, who's driving, what time it ends. Love isn't the question on the table. The party is.
What it sounds like online
A headline that makes you furious before you've read the second sentence.
That's on purpose. Angry people share. If you feel it in the first second, that's the moment to slow down, not speed up. Open the article. Find the actual claim. See if anyone linked to where it came from.
Sad music, a slow zoom, a story about one person, and then a number to text.
The story might be true and the cause might be good. The feeling still isn't a reason to give. The reason is where the money goes and whether it gets there, and that's a thing you can look up in two minutes.
"Share this if you have a heart."
Now not sharing it means something about you. That's the trick. A post being true has nothing to do with whether you have a heart.
What it sounds like when someone's selling
"Don't you want your family to be safe?"
Of course you do. That's why they asked. The question is whether this alarm system makes them safer than the one you have, and nothing in that sentence tells you.
"Only three left. Other moms are already checking out."
The feeling: panic about missing out. The missing reason: whether the thing is any good. Scarcity is a feeling dressed up as a fact. Sometimes it's even true. It's still not a reason to buy.
A car commercial where nobody mentions the car. Just a dad, a dog, a long drive home, and a song you liked in high school.
You feel warm, and the car gets the credit. There isn't a single fact in it. Price, mileage, what it costs to fix. All of that is in the fine print, which is the only part of the ad that's about the car.
The one-step test
Take the feeling out of the sentence and see what's left.
"Don't you want your family to be safe? Buy this alarm." Remove the feeling. What's left is: buy this alarm. No reason attached. Now you know what you're actually being asked, and you can go find out whether it's a good idea.
If something is still standing after you remove the feeling, you might be looking at a real argument. If nothing is, you were looking at a trick.
What this is not
Emotion in an argument isn't the fallacy. Feelings are information. A good argument can have a sad story in it and still be a good argument, as long as there's a reason standing next to the story. The fallacy is when the story is the whole thing.
And catching it doesn't mean you have to feel nothing. Feel whatever you feel. Then check.
Try it this week
Pick one thing. An ad, a post, something a kid says to you, something you say to a kid. Find the feeling. Take it out. Say what's left out loud. That's the whole practice, and it gets fast.
One a week. Follow for the next one.
The book behind the series.
The Tuttle Twins Guide to Logical Fallacies. Written for kids. Works on adults. It's the one we pull off the shelf at our house.
Questions
What is the appeal to emotion fallacy in simple terms?
Someone gives you a feeling instead of a reason and hopes you don't notice the swap.
Is it always wrong to use emotion in an argument?
No. It's a trick when the feeling is the only thing holding the claim up. Take the feeling out and see if a reason is still standing.
What's an example for kids?
"Everyone will laugh at me if I don't get those shoes." The fear is real. It isn't a reason the shoes are worth the money.
How do I catch it in ads and on social media?
Notice when you feel something strong in the first second. That's the moment to pause and ask what the claim is with the feeling removed.
Keep reading
Run our house · freeNo allowance. Paid for character.Our one-page chore guide for kids and teens: the chore list by age, the good deeds that earn, and the reward menu the boys built.Get it →