Appeal to consequences, also known as ''argumentum ad consequentiam'' (

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 ...

for "argument to the consequence"), is an argument that concludes a

hypothesis A hypothesis (plural hypotheses) is a proposed explanation for a phenomenon. For a hypothesis to be a scientific hypothesis, the scientific method requires that one can test it. Scientists generally base scientific hypotheses on previous obse ...

(typically a belief) to be either true or false based on whether the

premise A premise or premiss is a true or false statement that helps form the body of an argument, which logically leads to a true or false conclusion. A premise makes a declarative statement about its subject matter which enables a reader to either agre ...

leads to desirable or undesirable consequences. This is based on an

appeal to emotion Appeal to emotion or ''argumentum ad passiones'' (meaning the same in Latin) is an informal fallacy characterized by the manipulation of the recipient's emotions in order to win an argument, especially in the absence of factual evidence. This kind ...

and is a type of

informal fallacy Informal fallacies are a type of incorrect argument in natural language. The source of the error is not just due to the ''form'' of the argument, as is the case for formal fallacies, but can also be due to their ''content'' and ''context''. Fall ...

, since the desirability of a premise's consequence does not make the premise true. Moreover, in categorizing consequences as either desirable or undesirable, such arguments inherently contain subjective points of view. In

logic Logic is the study of correct reasoning. It includes both formal and informal logic. Formal logic is the science of deductively valid inferences or of logical truths. It is a formal science investigating how conclusions follow from premise ...

, appeal to consequences refers only to arguments that assert a conclusion's

truth value In logic and mathematics, a truth value, sometimes called a logical value, is a value indicating the relation of a proposition to truth, which in classical logic has only two possible values ('' true'' or '' false''). Computing In some pro ...

(''true or false'') without regard to the formal preservation of the truth from the premises; appeal to consequences does not refer to arguments that address a premise's consequential desirability (''good or bad'', or ''right or wrong'') instead of its truth value. Therefore, an argument based on appeal to consequences is valid in long-term decision making (which discusses possibilities that do not exist yet in the present) and abstract

ethics Ethics or moral philosophy is a branch of philosophy that "involves systematizing, defending, and recommending concepts of right and wrong behavior".''Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy'' The field of ethics, along with aesthetics, concer ...

, and in fact such arguments are the cornerstones of many moral theories, particularly related to

consequentialism In ethical philosophy, consequentialism is a class of normative, teleological ethical theories that holds that the consequences of one's conduct are the ultimate basis for judgment about the rightness or wrongness of that conduct. Thus, fro ...

. Appeal to consequences also should not be confused with ''

argumentum ad baculum ''Argumentum ad baculum'' (Latin for "argument to the cudgel" or "appeal to the stick") is the fallacy committed when one makes an appeal to force to bring about the acceptance of a conclusion.John Woods: ''Argumentum ad baculum.'' In: ''Argume ...

'', which is the bringing up of 'artificial' consequences (i.e. punishments) to argue that an action is wrong.

General form

An argument based on ''appeal to consequences'' generally has one of two forms:

Positive form

:If P, then Q will occur. :Q is desirable. :Therefore, P is true. It is closely related to

wishful thinking Wishful thinking is the formation of beliefs based on what might be pleasing to imagine, rather than on evidence, rationality, or reality. It is a product of resolving conflicts between belief and desire. Methodologies to examine wishful thin ...

in its construction. ;Examples * "

Real estate Real estate is property consisting of land and the buildings on it, along with its natural resources such as crops, minerals or water; immovable property of this nature; an interest vested in this (also) an item of real property, (more general ...

markets will continue to rise this year: home owners enjoy the capital gains." * "

Human Humans (''Homo sapiens'') are the most abundant and widespread species of primate, characterized by bipedalism and exceptional cognitive skills due to a large and complex brain. This has enabled the development of advanced tools, cultu ...

s will travel faster than light:

faster-than-light Faster-than-light (also FTL, superluminal or supercausal) travel and communication are the conjectural propagation of matter or information faster than the speed of light (). The special theory of relativity implies that only particles with zero ...

travel would be beneficial for space travel."

Negative form

:If P, then Q will occur. :Q is undesirable. :Therefore, P is false. Appeal to force (''argumentum ad baculum'') is a special instance of this form. This form somewhat resembles

modus tollens In propositional logic, ''modus tollens'' () (MT), also known as ''modus tollendo tollens'' (Latin for "method of removing by taking away") and denying the consequent, is a deductive argument form and a rule of inference. ''Modus tollens' ...

but is both different and fallacious, since "Q is undesirable" is not equivalent to "Q is false". ;Example "If the six men win, it will mean that the police are guilty of perjury, that they are guilty of violence and threats, that the confessions were invented and improperly admitted in evidence and the convictions were erroneous... This is such an appalling vista that every sensible person in the land would say that it cannot be right that these actions should go any further."

Lord Denning Alfred Thompson "Tom" Denning, Baron Denning (23 January 1899 – 5 March 1999) was an English lawyer and judge. He was called to the bar of England and Wales in 1923 and became a King's Counsel in 1938. Denning became a judge in 1944 wh ...

in his judgment on the

Birmingham Six The Birmingham Six were six Irishmen who were each sentenced to life imprisonment in 1975 following their false convictions for the 1974 Birmingham pub bombings. Their convictions were declared unsafe and unsatisfactory and quashed by the C ...

In law

In law, an argument from inconvenience or ''argumentum ab inconvenienti'', is a valid type of appeal to consequences. Such an argument would seek to show that a proposed action would have unreasonably inconvenient consequences, as for example a law that would require a person wishing to lend money against a security to first ascertain the borrower's title to the property by inquiring in every single courthouse in the country.

Notes

{{Fallacies

Consequences Consequence may refer to: * Logical consequence, also known as a ''consequence relation'', or ''entailment'' * In operant conditioning, a result of some behavior * Consequentialism, a theory in philosophy in which the morality of an act is determi ...

Causal fallacies Consequentialism Relevance fallacies

General form

Positive form

Negative form

In law

See also

Notes