Abstract

Emotions have long been seen as suspect because of their power to overwhelm us. Fear of negative consequences is a great motivator. An argument that appeals to force or fear attempts to make the audience feel fear at the threat or possibility of harm in order to get them to accept a conclusion. This chapter focuses on one of the common fallacies in Western philosophy: appeal to force or fear. Sometimes evoking fear in, or threatening, another can be a legitimate part of arguing, particularly if emotion is part of what is at issue. However, often appeals to fear or force are irrelevant to the point at issue and are fallacious attempts to convince an audience to accept one's argument/position. Thus, a central problem in regard to appeals to force or fear arguments is figuring out when such appeals are legitimate and when they are fallacious. The chapter addresses this by employing several critical questions.