Hey y'all,

So I'm attempting to do a series of posts (maybe once a week) highlighting different Logical Fallacies!

What is a logical fallacy, you wonder?

Put simply, it is an error in reasoning that makes an argument invalid.

SGI (just like all cults) are REALLY good at using logical fallacies to try to argue their points, as a way to try to persuade potential recruits that "chanting really works!" or "This Buddhism is the most noble of all religions!" or "You will accumulate great fortune by teaching just one person our magic chant!"

Oh, yes, they are very good at logical fallacies. And those poor, sweet members that they swindle of time and money don't know any better.... see because even though SGI uses nonsensical (and therefore incorrect) reasoning, they are still very good at appealing to people's emotions! And we all ate that shit right up back when we were not using our critical thinking skills.

So guess what.... that's going to be Logical Fallacy (LF) #1 that I focus on today!

APPEAL TO EMOTION

Here's the website I'll be using for reference: https://www.logicalfallacies.org

"The Appeal to Emotion LF: makes a claim based on sympathy or empathetic instead of just or logical grounds.

Examples of Appeal to Emotion

• Sarah did not want to eat liverwurst for dinner, but he mother told her to think of all the starving children in the world who do not have food at all.
• Sarah eating (or not eating) her food has no bearing on starving children in another part of the world.

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• Almost every commercial is an appeal to emotion. A cereal commercial shows kids enjoying their breakfast with a happy mom in the background.
• The commercial is supposed to make parents think that if they get this cereal their kids will just sit down and have their breakfast without running around and driving them crazy."

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One "Appeal to Emotion" argument that I can recall hearing a lot from SGI leaders was the idea that MY chanting to a piece of paper was going to change the world! That it would somehow magically create world peace! That dedicating myself to chanting twice a day and going to meetings every week and trying to convert as many people as possible-- these things were going to make me a happier person!

Well, those ideas sure did appeal to my emotion! And I bet they appealed to a lot of you all, too!

Does anybody have any specific memories of the time they were in the SGI in which a leader or another member tried to appeal to your emotion to get you to do something?