Appeal To Pity

A concept from chapter 10 not yet discussed that I found interesting is the appeal to pity. Appeal to pity is when the arguer tries to get someone to agree with them by evoking pity or sympathy. There is no evidence provided so the arguer must persuade their listeners to believe their conclusion by using sympathy.  Using pity can definitely be effective, and cause someone to believe their conclusion.  This is very effective, and commonly used.  This type of argument is fallacious because our emotional responses are not always a good adviser to truth; emotions can cloud, rather than clarify, issues. We should base our beliefs upon reason and evidence, instead of on emotion, if we want our beliefs to be true.An example of appeal to pity would be Pro- Life campaigners.  They show images of aborted fetuses to turn them against abortions.  This has been very effective in persuading people out getting abortions.