Card 3 of 24 · Relevance
Argumentum ad passiones
Pulling on heartstrings instead of making a case.
Strong feelings are real, but they aren’t evidence.
Example
“If you cared about local kids, you’d support my proposal.”
“Argument to the passions.” Close cousins: ad misericordiam (to pity), ad metum (to fear), and ad baculum (to the stick, i.e., threat).
Diagnosis: The hidden premise P2 is false. Emotions can rightly signal that something matters, but they do not establish which proposition is true or which policy is wise.
“Imagine how hopeless life would be without God — so God must exist.” Existential longing may be data worth discussing (as in C.S. Lewis’s argument from desire), but despair alone is not proof.
“Anyone with a heart can see this law is right.” Moral emotions matter in virtue ethics, yet a policy still needs reasons about consequences, justice, and rights.
“This reading of Romans 9 is too painful to be correct.” Pastoral weight is real, but the interpretation must be tested by grammar, context, and the canon.
Trail recovery
Honor the feeling, then locate the reason underneath it. Emotions often point to a genuine value (dignity, justice, hope); name that value and build the argument on it explicitly.
Try saying: “I can tell this matters a lot — can we name the principle behind it so we can test it together?”
Keep questioning. Keep exploring.