APPEAL TO RIDICULE

By: Whitney Miles

Definition of Appeal to Ridicule

▪ Appeal to Ridicule is a fallacy in which ridicule or mockery is substituted for evidence in an “argument”.

▪ The common “reasoning” form is: – X is some form of ridicule (typically directed at the claim). – The claim is false.

▪ This sort of “reasoning” is fallacious because mocking a claim does not show that it is false.

▪ It is also known as appeal to mockery, ab absurdo, or the horse laugh.

Universal Example

▪ For example, if there is an election and one candidate declares:

▪ “Sure my worthy opponent claims that we should lower tuition, but that is just laughable.”

▪ Today , tuition for college is really expensive and many people wish it was lower. Electors would most likely vote for the candidate that lowers tuition, not this one.

▪ By saying that lowering tuition is “just laughable”, the candidate is mocking his opponent. They could have presented reasonable evidence to support their claim, instead they ridicule their opponent. The ridicule is in place of the evidence.

Other Examples…

▪ “Those wacky conservatives! They think a strong military is the key to peace!”

▪ This is appeal to ridicule because the person is calling the conservatives “wacky” for wanting a strong military. The person believes that having a strong military is irrational, so they are mocking conservatives for believing that we should have a strong military. This follows the fallacy’s form by saying that conservatives are wacky, then by over exaggerating the fact that conservatives believe in a strong military.

The Crucible Examples

Act Speaker Contents/Topic Page

1 Procter Meeting house 181

2 Proctor Candlesticks 198

3 Danforth Reply 214

3 Procter Dragon 217

Appeal to Ridicule in The Crucible

▪ Act I, Page 181

▪ Proctor: “To live in, yes. But to ask ownership is like you shall own the meeting house itself; the last meeting I were at you spoke so long on deeds and mortgages I thought it were an auction.”

▪ Puritans believe that a pastor is in place to preach God’s word, not to worry about material things, such as money. Proctor is over exaggerating how much Reverend Parris speaks about deeds and mortgages by stating that it feels like being at an auction.

Appeal to Ridicule in The Crucible

▪ Act II, Page 198

▪ Proctor: “Since we built the church there were pewter candlesticks upon the altar; Francis Nurse made them, y’know, and a sweeter hand never touched the metal. But Paris came, and for twenty week he preach nothin’ but golden candlesticks until he had them. I labor the earth from dawn of the day to blink of night , and I tell you true, when I look to heaven and see my money glaring at his elbows-it hurt my prayer, sir, it hurt my prayer. I think, sometimes, the man dreams cathedrals, not clapboard meetin’ houses.”

▪ Proctor is says that Parris “dreams cathedrals” because of the golden candlesticks he has in the church. The Puritans came to America to have freedom to practice their religion, not become like the churches in Europe. This makes it look like Parris wants to be like those churches. Proctor ridicules the atmosphere of the church to explain why he only goes once a month.

Appeal to Ridicule in The Crucible

▪ Act III, Page 214

▪ Danforth: “Oh, is it a proper lawyer! Do you wish me to declare the court in full session here? Or will you give me good reply?”

▪ Giles will not confess to Danforth, and then jokes saying he cannot be held in contempt of court since it is not in session. Danforth then mocks Giles, “Oh, is it a proper lawyer!” Everyone in the court knows that Giles is not an actual lawyer. Danforth uses this remark to make Giles seems inept of sharing and testifying in a court.

Appeal to Ridicule in The Crucible

▪ Act III, Page 217

▪ Proctor: “There might also be a dragon with five legs in my house, but no one has ever seen it.”

▪ Proctor is using the ridiculous example of a dragon with five legs in his house, when everyone knows that is very unlikely, to support his claim that his wife is not a witch. He uses this to make the accusation seem very unlikely.

Sources

▪ "Fallacy: Appeal to Ridicule." The Nizkor Project. N.p., 1991. Web. 25 Feb. 2013.

▪ Landover Baptist Forums. "The Truth About New Atheism - The Landover Baptist Church Forum." The Landover Baptist Church Forum RSS. Jelsoft Enterprises Ltd., 2015. Web. 18 Mar. 2015.

▪ Miller, Arthur. The Crucible. Evanston, IL: McDougal Littell, 2006. Print.