Appeal to pity - Definition and Overview

An appeal to pity (also called argumentum ad misericordiam) is a logical fallacy in which someone tries to win support for their argument or idea by exploiting their opponent's feelings of pity or guilt.

The appeal to pity is a specific kind of appeal to emotion.

Examples

• "I hope you like my proposal. It took me six years to write and I don't know what I'd do if you reject it."
• "Look at that poor homeless kitty. I bet it hasn't eaten in days. You should adopt it."

These examples are not necessarily false, they could be true. However, to prove a statement you need to use correct thinking, not a fallacy. See argument from fallacy.

As with all logical fallacies, these ideas aren't necessarily untrue; they just aren't true for the reason stated.