In argumentation theory, an argumentum ad populum (Latin for appeal to the people) is a fallacious argument that concludes a proposition is true because many or most people believe it. In other words, the basic idea of the argument is: If many believe so, it is so. This type of argument is known by several names,[1] including appeal to the masses, appeal to belief, appeal to the majority, appeal to democracy, appeal to popularity, argument by consensus, consensus fallacy, authority of the many, and bandwagon fallacy, and in Latin as argumentum ad numerum (appeal to the number), and consensus gentium (agreement of the clans). It is also the basis of a number of social phenomena, including communal reinforcement and the bandwagon effect. The Chinese proverb three men make a tiger concerns the same idea.
Posted on: Sun, 05 Oct 2014 22:11:30 +0000
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