Informal Fallacies:
Appeal to People (Argumentum ad Populum)
The appeal to people fallacy is a variation of the appeal to authority. It consists in
arguing that some statement p is true because most people believe p. In other words,
an appeal to people fallacy arises when one who, instead of concentrating on the
relevant facts of the argument, gives more emphasis on the emotions and opinions of
the people as the basis of her conclusion.
According to logicians, the fallacy of appeal to people is in effect an appeal to commonly
or traditionally held beliefs.
This type of informal fallacy is commonly found in advertisements where products are
recommended by asserting that “everyone uses it” or “a majority of the population use
it”. Let us consider the example below.
“Budweiser is better than any other beer in the world because 90% of the Americans
drink it.”
In the example above, one is arguing that Budweiser is the best beer in the world
because many or almost all of the Americans drink it. Put differently, the unstated
premise here is that the best-selling beer is the best beer, and the conclusion is that
since we ought to buy the best beer, then we ought to buy Budweiser.
Obviously, this is not a sound or valid argument. The fact that 90% of the Americans
drink Budweiser entails neither that Budweiser is the best nor we ought to drink one.
Just as in many other types of informal fallacy, what we notice in the appeal to people
fallacy is that it lacks the necessary evidence that we can appropriate to prove that
indeed that claim is true. Hence, in the example above, we ought to provide the proof
for us to be able to conclude that Budweiser is the best beer in the world.
For example, we may say that 90% of the people in the world said that Budweiser tastes
better than any other beer available in the market or it is proven that Budweiser
contains more vitamins and minerals than any other beer available in the market.
In this way, it is logical to conclude that indeed, Budweiser is the best beer in the world.
Appeal to People (Argumentum ad Populum)
The appeal to people fallacy is a variation of the appeal to authority. It consists in
arguing that some statement p is true because most people believe p. In other words,
an appeal to people fallacy arises when one who, instead of concentrating on the
relevant facts of the argument, gives more emphasis on the emotions and opinions of
the people as the basis of her conclusion.
According to logicians, the fallacy of appeal to people is in effect an appeal to commonly
or traditionally held beliefs.
This type of informal fallacy is commonly found in advertisements where products are
recommended by asserting that “everyone uses it” or “a majority of the population use
it”. Let us consider the example below.
“Budweiser is better than any other beer in the world because 90% of the Americans
drink it.”
In the example above, one is arguing that Budweiser is the best beer in the world
because many or almost all of the Americans drink it. Put differently, the unstated
premise here is that the best-selling beer is the best beer, and the conclusion is that
since we ought to buy the best beer, then we ought to buy Budweiser.
Obviously, this is not a sound or valid argument. The fact that 90% of the Americans
drink Budweiser entails neither that Budweiser is the best nor we ought to drink one.
Just as in many other types of informal fallacy, what we notice in the appeal to people
fallacy is that it lacks the necessary evidence that we can appropriate to prove that
indeed that claim is true. Hence, in the example above, we ought to provide the proof
for us to be able to conclude that Budweiser is the best beer in the world.
For example, we may say that 90% of the people in the world said that Budweiser tastes
better than any other beer available in the market or it is proven that Budweiser
contains more vitamins and minerals than any other beer available in the market.
In this way, it is logical to conclude that indeed, Budweiser is the best beer in the world.
