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Appeal to Pity: Argumentum Ad Misericordiam (SUNY Series in Logic (Suny Series in Logic and Language)

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Appeals to compassion, mercy, pity, and sympathy are often made by: (a) charities seeking contributions; (b) criminal defendants seeking to avoid conviction or mitigate punishment after conviction; (c) individuals or groups supporting political or policy proposals; and (d) individuals seeking to excuse or mitigate their actions. This book sets forth a conceptual framework for examining and evaluating those kinds of arguments.

The author reviews textbooks, which take the traditional view that "argumentum ad misericordiam" (usually translated as "appeal to pity") is a logical fallacy, and then looks at historical examples of philosophers who discuss the "appeal to pity" (Chapters 1-2). The author tries to identify and differentiate among various arguments that have been characterized as "appeal to pity" arguments in an effort to analyze the structure of such arguments (Chapters 3-4). The author then uses a particular case study to illustrate and elaborate on various points he has made about "appeal to pity" arguments (Chapter 5). The author challenges the traditional view that "appeal to pity" arguments are always fallacious and improper, and contends that "appeal to pity" arguments can be proper under certain circumstances (Chapter 6). Finally, the author applies his analysis of "appeal to pity" arguments to several case studies mentioned and discussed earlier in the book (Chapter 7).

The author makes an interesting and very plausible argument that people should carefully differentiate between appeals to compassion, appeals to mercy, appeals to pity, and appeals to sympathy. The author contends that the words compassion, mercy, pity, and sympathy have different meanings and connotations, and that those different meanings and connotations are relevant to identifying, differentiating, and evaluating arguments that invoke those four words.

The book is technical in nature, and not written for casual reading. The book could be of interest to persons trained in, or studying, philosophy, theology, ethics, or law. Anyone interested in learning how to better understand, analyze and evaluate arguments that invoke compassion, mercy, pity or sympathy should read this book. Because of the technical nature of the author's analysis, some prior exposure to philosophical analysis, moral or theological reasoning, legal reasoning, informal logic, or argumentation theory would be helpful to the reader.