Appealing to pity is when someone does something because they feel pity for whatever he or she is doing it for. In appealing to pity, you are simply giving into a conclusion because you feel it is right due to the fact that you feel guilty you do not agree with the conclusion. Here is an argument that is using this method in order to convince the audience that it is right to do something.
"My little sister is not allowed to eat candy, and I know she loves candy. Therefore, I will give her candy because I feel sorry for her."
This is a bad argument because I am basically showing appeal to pity for my sister when I shouldn't. In the first place, she probably was banned from eating candy because she wasn't taking care of her teeth. There is no good reason to give her candy in this particular argument because it is not very logical. A better argument would say, "Since it is Halloween, I should give my sister candy so that she can celebrate." This argument may still be bad, but it is stronger than my previous argument of appealing to pity. The previous argument was weaker because I was giving candy in an illogical way. However, giving candy while it is Halloween shows a better reason because children usually celebrate Halloween by trick-or-treating and getting candy. The Halloween argument is more reasonable than me feeling pity for my little sister.
- Pink Bean
When I first read the section on appeal to pity I did not really understand what they meant because in the example they gave it seemed logical to me. I see others that need help and I want to give them money or food. However after reading your argument this appeal makes so much more sense to me. You clearly described why there was inadequate reasoning to give the little sister candy in the first place but then gave a second example of how to make it the premise a little more plausible. You gave very good examples that really helped me to grasp the concept more.
ReplyDelete