Logical Fallacies in Political Context

One logical fallacy in particular that I often find myself falling prey to (or using) is Appeal to Emotion. Within this fallacy, one attempts to make or refute an argument through the use of emotion or sympathy rather than through logic. For example, an employee might attempt to talk his boss out of firing him because he has children at home to feed. Or a student might try to convince their professor to give them a passing grade on an exam they missed, because their car broke down on the way to class. We frequently encounter it in our daily lives, but the humanitarians and Good Samaritans within us can oftentimes blind us to the fallacy aspect of such entreaties.

Unfortunately, this particular type of logical flaw is also quite common in politics. One such example of this is a presidential campaign ad recently released by Republican candidate Marco Rubio:

The main focus of this ad is the state of the economy, and the effect it will have in the years to come. Particular emphasis (to use more specific examples) is placed upon how the children of future generations will be burdened by debt, and how young, newly married couples will struggle within this economy. However, rather than listing ways in which Rubio means to improve the economy if he is elected, this ad merely attempts to convince viewers that leaders like Hillary Clinton and President Barack Obama are to blame, and should therefore not be given the support of voters.

Let me restate that: no reference whatsoever is made to how Rubio means to improve the economy. In fact, the only time Rubio’s name is mentioned at all is in the approval message at the very end of the ad. Never once is it said aloud. The soft music and picturesque visuals act as an aid to this ad’s use of Appeal to Emotion by portraying the people of America as downtrodden and weary. This hides the fact that when it comes to actual content, the ad is little more than a smear campaign.

via quickmeme

I believe that kindness and empathy are extremely important traits, and should be taken into consideration when making most, if not all decisions. However, when confronted by a logical fallacy like Appeal to Emotion, I also believe that the best course of action is to try and temporarily remove yourself from any emotional reaction and look at the situation from a strictly logical point of view. Should the employee be given another chance, despite the fact that they’ve been consistently lacking in their performance? Should the student be given a passing grade, despite the fact that it is their responsibility to ensure they either show up to class on time or give prior warning of their absence? Ultimately, there is no cut-and-dried rule as to what the correct course of action is when confronted with a situation like this. But taking time to look at the circumstances through both entirely subjective and objective viewpoints will likely help a great deal in narrowing down the reaction that you feel best suits the situation.