The Personal Appeals Family

Personal appeals are fallacies that persuade by appealing to an individual listener. They seem to suggest that the listener ought to accept a view, even if it isn't true or even if other reasoners would not find it to be acceptable, merely because it is to the listener's personal advantage to accept the view. Although these arguments can be used to address a large, general audience (at least where everyone in the audience is assumed to have common interests or a shared point of view), they often seem to be best suited to one-on-one debates, where no one is around to point out that the reasons offered are idiosyncratic and tailored to suit the specific audience.

The fallacies in the Personal Appeals family are...

Appeal to Private Motives

Appeal to Flattery

Appeal to Guilt

Appeal to Force (Ad Baculum)

Appeal to Bribery

Appeal to Gender

WELCOME                     EXPLANATION OF PRINCIPLES                                     TABLE OF FALLACIES                        EXERCISES                     INDEX