An appeal to spite (
Latin
Latin (, or , ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally a dialect spoken in the lower Tiber area (then known as Latium) around present-day Rome, but through the power of the ...
: ''argumentum ad odium'')
is a form of argumentation which attempts to win favor by exploiting feelings of bitterness,
spite, or
schadenfreude in the audience. Logically fallacious, it attempts to sway the audience
emotionally
Emotions are mental states brought on by neurophysiological changes, variously associated with thoughts, feelings, behavioral responses, and a degree of pleasure or displeasure. There is currently no scientific consensus on a definition. ...
by associating a widely hated figure or concept with the opposition's argument.
Appeal to spite is similar to
ad hominem arguments which attack the speaker rather than addressing the claims, but in this case the ill feeling is not created by the argument, it already exists.
Examples
* "Why shouldn't prisoners do hard labor?
The places
''The'' () is a grammatical article in English, denoting persons or things already mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in English. ''The'' is the ...
are full of scumbags!"
* "Stop that recycling! Aren't we tired of Hollywood celebrities preaching about saving the Earth?"
* "Why should
they
In Modern English, ''they'' is a third-person pronoun relating to a grammatical subject.
Morphology
In Standard Modern English, ''they'' has five distinct word forms:
* ''they'': the nominative (subjective) form
* ''them'': the accusat ...
even have more? I got nothing from the state and look at what I had to give off to pay for my own studies!"
* "Not the opera,
Hitler loved that, let's go to the circus instead."
References
{{Fallacies
Spite