Appeal to Pity: Argumentum Ad Misericordiam

251 Pages·1997·0.78 MB·English

by  Douglas Walton

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title: Appeal to Pity : Argumentum Ad Misericordiam SUNY Series in
Logic and Language
author: Walton, Douglas N.
publisher: State University of New York Press
isbn10 | asin: 0791434621
print isbn13: 9780791434628
ebook isbn13: 9780585062198
language: English
subject Appeal to pity (Logical fallacy)
publication date: 1997
lcc: BC175.W32 1997eb
ddc: 160
subject: Appeal to pity (Logical fallacy)
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Page i
Appeal to Pity

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SUNY Series in Logic and Language
John T Kearns, Editor

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Page iii
Appeal to Pity
Argumentum ad Misericordiam
Douglas Walton
State University of New York Press

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Published by
State University of New York Press, Albany
© 1997 State University of New York
All rights reserved
Printed in the United States of America
No part of this book may be used or reproduced in any manner whatsoever without written permission. No part of this book may
be stored in a retrieval system or transmitted in any form or by any means including electronic, electrostatic, magnetic tape,
mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise without the prior permission in writing of the publisher.
For information, address State University of New York Press, State University Plaza, Albany, N.Y., 12246
Production by E. Moore
Marketing by Fran Keneston
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Walton, Douglas N.
Appeal to pity = Argumentum ad misericordiam / Douglas Walton.
p. cm. (SUNY series in logic and language)
Includes bibliographical references and index.
ISBN 0-7914-3461-3 (hard : alk. paper). ISBN 0-7914-3462-1 (pbk. : alk. paper)
1. Appeal to pity (Logical fallacy) I. Title. II. Series.
BC175.W32 1997
160dc20 96-35821
CIP
10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1

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Page v
For Karen, with love.

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Page vii
Contents
Acknowledgments xi
Introduction xiii
1. The Textbook Treatment 1
2
1. Irrelevance
5
2. Appeal to Pity as Inherently Fallacious
7
3. Not All Cases Fallacious?
11
4. Legal Cases
15
5. The Student's Plea Case
20
6. Excuses as Arguments
22
7. Charitable Appeals
26
8. Argument from Consequences
28
9. Judging the Fallacious Cases
31
10. Summary
2. Historical Background 35
35
1. Origins in the Modern Textbooks
38
2. Earliest Known Origins of Ad Misericordiam
41
3. Ancient Use as a Courtroom Tactic
45
4. Socrates' Rejection of Appeal to Pity
48
5. Aristotle on Appeal to Pity (Eleos)
51
6. The Stoic Condemnation of Pity
54
7. The Christian View of Pity
57
8. Sympathy as an Ethical Concept
59
9. Early Modern Views of Pity
61
I0. Terminological Questions

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3. Identifying the Ad Misericordiam As a Type of Argument 64
65
1. The Jerry Lewis Telethon for Muscular Dystrophy
69
2. Negative Attitudes Towards Pity
73
3. A Definition of Pity
78
4. Mercy and Pity
81
5. A Pragmatic Concept of Empathy
84
6. A Definition of Sympathy
88
7. Compassion and Pity
90
8. The Speech on Health Security
93
9. Classification of the Types of Appeals
97
10. What's in a Name?
4. The Structure of the Argument 101
101
1. Arguments from Negative Consequences
103
2. Arguments from Need for Help
105
3. Argument from Distress
107
4. Charitable Appeals to Pity
109
5. Practical Reasoning
111
6. Evaluating Practical Reasoning
115
7. What Deliberation is About
117
8. The Case of Walter the Hardnosed Logician
120
9. Evolutionary Logic of Appeal to Feeling
122
10. Conclusions Summarized
5. The Nayirah Case 127
127
1. Facts of the Case