History Main / AppealToPity

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'''[[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Appeal_to_pity Appeal to pity]]'''

Also called ''Argumentum ad Misericordiam'': Attempting to make someone feel sorry for either the arguer or the subject of the argument, in order to convince them to accept the argument, regardless of its validity.

--> "Sir, you shouldn't fire me, even though I'm chronically late, bicker with all the other staff, and consistently fail to finish my tasks on time, because I have a sick wife and four children, and if I lose my job we'll be thrown out of our house and have to live on the street."

!!! Tropes which rely on or incorporate this fallacy:
* Overuse of appeal to pity is one of the reasons why {{Wangst}} and {{Sympathetic Sue}}s are treated with such disdain.
* ThinkOfTheChildren, in which the subject of the argument is claimed to adversely affect children. This works not only because it appeals to people's natural instinct to protect children, but because it implies that anyone who disagrees is [[{{Jerkass}} a big meanie]] [[ChildHater who hates children]]. (Note that this itself is a fallacious FalseDichotomy, as one can care for others but still need to successfully manage their business to provide income for many workers, who may also have kids to feed.)
* EvenEvilHasLovedOnes and PetTheDog - the viewer may find themselves thinking "Well, yes, that guy ''did'' hole himself up in a fortified chapel with fifty hostages so he could open a portal to hell with the unholy power of their tormented souls. But killing him means that sweet little girl will lose her grandfather who she loves dearly."
* FreudianExcuse. "Yes, he's a {{Jerkass}}, but only because this horrible thing happened to him when he was a child." Note that a Freudian Excuse can function as a legitimate explanation ''if the author does not rely solely on sympathy''. A Freudian Excuse may instead explain how the environment conditioned and motivated the character's bad behaviour. (E.g. He lived in a CrapsackWorld, WretchedHive, or other such hellish MightMakesRight environment where NoGoodDeedGoesUnpunished, and came to a logical conclusion that [[IDidWhatIHadToDo ruthlessness]], [[RoaringRampageOfRevenge vengeance]] and SocialDarwinism are necessary for survival and [[AmbitionIsEvil self-improvement]].)

!! Examples:
* Researchers have shown that the best predictor of the outcome of a malpractice lawsuit in the United States is not whether there is evidence that the physician actually erred, but the status of the patient and the severity of the result. For example, (in the US) if a newborn has a malformation, the odds of an award are distressingly high, even when there is no evidence that the cause is anything except bad luck. Obstetricians have absurdly high malpractice insurance as a result, and that cost is picked up ultimately by the patients.
* ''Film/SpankingTheMonkey'': After Susan hits Ray's girlfriend Toni, her father pays the Aibellis a visit and makes it clear in no uncertain terms that he intends to press charges against her. Susan manages to persuade him to not do so by airing all her grievances about her personal life and promising him that she will see a psychologist.
* ''WebAnimation/TerribleWritingAdvice'' [[BadIsGoodAndGoodIsBad "advocates"]] in "Taking Criticism" that a good response to criticism of your work is to accuse people of bullying you for your religious or political beliefs. This is accompanied by the FunnyBackgroundEvent of J. P. sending a post saying "You are all picking on me because I am an anarcho-neopagan vegan cyborg!"
* The [[https://en.wikisource.org/wiki/Soiled_Dove_Plea Soiled Dove Plea]] was a speech delivered by the defense attorney in an 1899 trial for prostitution, now often called the perfect closing argument. He didn't contest the charge itself but waxed eloquent about the misery of the defendant's life and asked the jury not to add to her hardships by convicting her. She was immediately acquitted.

!!! Looks like this fallacy, but isn't:
* Can be an AppealToConsequences, arguing that bad things will happen to pitiful victims. See AppealToConsequences for times when that might not be a fallacy.

----

* Overuse of appeal to pity is one of the reasons why {{Wangst}} and {{Sympathetic Sue}}s only get responded to with DarknessInducedAudienceApathy.

!!! Also called
* Argumentum ad Misericordiam

:: Attempting to make someone feel sorry for either the arguer or the subject of the argument, in order to convince them to accept the argument regardless of its validity.

--> Sir, you shouldn't fire me, even though I'm chronically late, bicker with all the other staff, and consistently fail to finish my tasks on time, because I have a sick wife and four children and if I lose my job we'll be thrown out of our house and have to live on the street."

* Overuse of appeal to pity is one of the reasons why {{Wangst}} and {{Sympathetic Sue}}s only get responded with DarknessInducedAudienceApathy.

* Overuse of AppealToPity is one of the reasons why {{Wangst}} and {{Sympathetic Sue}}s only get responded with DarknessInducedAudienceApathy.

* FreudianExcuse. "Yes, he's a {{Jerkass}}, but only because this horrible thing happen to him when he was a child." Note that a Freudian Excuse can function as a legitimate explanation ''if the author does not rely solely on sympathy''. A Freudian Excuse may instead explain how the environment conditioned and motivated the character's bad behaviour. (E.g. He lived in a CrapsackWorld, WretchedHive, or other such hellish MightMakesRight environment where NoGoodDeedGoesUnpunished, and came to a logical conclusion that [[IDidWhatIHadToDo ruthlessness]], [[RoaringRampageOfRevenge vengeance]] and SocialDarwinism are necessary for survival and [[AmbitionIsEvil self-improvement]].)

* ThinkOfTheChildren, in which the subject of the argument is claimed to adversely affect children. This works not only because it appeals to people's natural instinct to protect children, but because it implies that anyone who disagrees is [[{{Jerkass}} a big meanie]] [[ChildHater who hates children]]. (Note that this itself is a fallacious FalseDichotomy.)

* ThinkOfTheChildren, in which the subject of the argument is claimed to adversely affect children. This works not only because it appeals to people's natural instinct to protect children, but because it implies that anyone who disagrees is [[{{Jerkass}} a big meanie]] [[ChildHater who hates children]].

* FreudianExcuse. "Yes, he's a {{Jerkass}}, but only because this horrible thing happen to him when he was a child." Note that a Freudian Excuse can function as a legitimate explanation ''if the author does not rely solely on sympathy''. A Freudian Excuse may instead explain how the environment conditioned and motivated the character's bad behavior. (E.g. He lived in a CrapsackWorld, WretchedHive, or other such hellish MightMakesRight environment where NoGoodDeedGoesUnpunished, learning that [[IDidWhatIHadToDo ruthlessness]], [[RoaringRampageOfRevenge vengeance]] and SocialDarwinism are necessary for survival and [[AmbitionIsEvil self-improvement]].)

* FreudianExcuse. "Yes, he's a jackass. But it's because he had this horrible thing happen to him when he was a child." Now Freudian excuse is a legitimate explanation if it did not rely on sole sympathy, but rather the Freudian Excuse is used to logically explain how the environment conditioned and motivated his bad behaviour (e.g., in a CrapsackWorld, WretchedHive, or other such hellish MightMakesRight environment where NoGoodDeedGoesUnpunished, it's very reasonable for a child to adopt ruthlessness, vengeance and SocialDarwinism for the sake of survival and [[AmbitionIsEvil self-improvement]].)

* Overuse of AppealToPity is one of the reasons why {{Wangst}} descends into DarknessInducedAudienceApathy.

* FreudianExcuse. "Yes, he's a jackass. But it's because he had this horrible thing happen to him when he was a child." Now Freudian excuse is a legitimate explanation if it did not rely on sole sympathy, but rather the Freudian Excuse is used to logically explain how the environment conditioned and motivated his bad behaviour (e.g., in a CrapsackWorld, WretchedHive, or other such hellish MightMakesRight environment where NoGoodDeedGoesUnpunished, it's very reasonable for a child to adopt ruthlessness, vengeance and SocialDarwinism in order to survive and climb up the social hierarchy.)

* FreudianExcuse. "Yes, he's a jackass. But it's because he had this horrible thing happen to him when he was a child." Now Freudian excuse is a legitimate explanation if it did not rely on sole sympathy, but rather the Freudian Excuse is used to logically explain how the environment conditioned and motivated his bad behaviour (e.g., in a CrapsackWorld, WrtetchedHive, or other such hellish MightMakesRight environment where NoGoodDeedGoesUnpunished, it's fairly reasonable for a child to adopt ruthlessness, vengeance and SocialDarwinism in order to survive and climb up the social hierarchy.)

* EvenEvilHasLovedOnes - the viewer may find themselves thinking "Well, yes, that guy ''did'' hole himself up in a fortified chapel with fifty hostages so he could open a portal to hell with the unholy power of their tormented souls. But killing him means that sweet little girl will lose her grandfather who she loves dearly."
* FreudianExcuse. "Yes, he's a jackass. But it's because he had this horrible thing happen to him when he was a child."

--> "Sir, I know I never turn up to work on time, have a horrible record for absence, don't put in any effort when I am here and constantly bicker with the other staff, but I have three kids at home. Surely you wouldn't let them go hungry by firing me?"

** One common subtype is ThinkOfTheChildren, in which the subject of the argument is claimed to adversely affect children. This works not only because it appeals to people's natural instinct to protect children, but because it implies that anyone who disagrees is [[{{Jerkass}} a big meanie]] [[ChildHater who hates children]].

--> The ubiquity of the Internet gives children greater access to pornography than at any point in history. We must do something to protect them from these vile images!

** Another trope which can rely on this principle is EvenEvilHasLovedOnes - the viewer may find themselves thinking "well, ''sure'' it's a shame that that little girl has lost her granddad, but then he ''did'' hole himself up in a fortified chapel with fifty hostages so he could open a portal to hell with the unholy power of their tormented souls..."
** Writers can intentionally or unintentionally create a DracoInLeatherPants using this trope with even a modest FreudianExcuse.
** Researchers have shown that the best predictor of the outcome of a malpractice lawsuit in the United States is not whether there is evidence that the physician actually erred, but the status of the patient. For example, (in the US) if a newborn has a malformation, the odds of an award are distressingly high, even when there is no evidence that the cause is anything except bad luck. Obstetricians have absurdly high malpractice insurance as a result, and that cost is picked up ultimately by the patients.

--> The ubiquity of the Internet gives children greater access to pornography than at any point in history. We must do something to protect them from these vile images!

** One common subtype is ThinkOfTheChildren, in which the subject of the argument is claimed to adversely affect children. This works not only because it appeals to people's natural instinct to protect children, but because it implies that anyone who disagrees is [[EatsBabies a big meanie]] [[ChildHater who hates children]].

** One common subtype is ThinkOfTheChildren, in which the subject of the argument is claimed to adversely affect children. This works not only because it appeals to people's natural instinct to protect children, but because it implies that anyone who disagrees is a big meanie who hates children.