Argumentum ad Misrecordiam

Pity:

The feeling of sorrow and compassion caused by the suffering and misfortunes of others.

Argument from Pity

The argumentum ad misericordiam fallacy occurs when an arguer uses pity in place of logic to convince someone to change from their stance.

Don't confuse this with properly infused pathos which can be used effectively when combined with logic and credibility. Pathos can be a reinforcement of what the audience already feels; however, it turns into a fallacy when the communicator uses it purposely, particularly appealing to a sense of pity, to manipulate without consideration of logic.

To be fair, it is important to be an empathetic and sympathetic person by considering the impacts of decisions. However, one should separate pity from logic and be able to weigh their importance independently. If pity sways you, that's fine as long as you are making a conscious decision rather than a manipulated one.

Example:

Lawyer to Judge: "Your honor, Mr. Spagnolo should not be found guilty of parking his motorbike illegally in a bus loading zone. He was running late this morning because his hot-water heater stopped working, but his sense of duty to help grow the minds of his students through education made him do whatever he could to get to class on time. In his rush to be a great role model for his students, he may have made a little mistake. He is a really nice guy who often donates to charity. His family loves him. He often picks up other people's trash and deposits in the appropriate bins. You wouldn't punish the poor guy for this, would you?"

This may all be true and commendable; however, do they change the fact that Mr. Spagnolo was parked illegally?

Judge: "What a guy. I admire him. I hope he gets his hot-water heater fixed soon and his landlord pays for it. Here is his fine for parking illegally in a bus loading zone."

The judge, who took AP Language & Composition when she was in high school, was not fooled by the lawyer's faulty ad misrecordiam argument.

It may be heartless to give this poor soul a parking ticket, but, legally speaking, the person who wrote this note is actually admitting to parking illegally which only makes the prosecutor's case airtight.

Example:

Richardo: "Mr. Spagnolo, please don't give me a 'D' on this unit! My mother will be soooooo saddddd if you do."

Mr. Spagnolo: "Richardo, I don't give grades. You earn them. Did you earn a better grade than a 'D'? No. Here's your disappoinging status report. I'm sure your mother will only disown you for a little while."

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