argumentum ad populum
English edit
Etymology edit
Latin: argūmentum (“argument”, “proof”) + ad (“to”, “toward”) + populum (accusative singular of populus, “people”, “nation”) ≈ “appeal to the people”
Pronunciation edit
- (Classical) IPA(key): /aɹ.ɡuːˈmen.tum ad ˈpo.pu.lum/, [aɹ.ɡuːˈmen.tũ ad ˈpo.pu.lũ]
- (Received Pronunciation) enPR: ärgyo͞omĕnʹtəm ăd pŏʹpyo͝oləm, IPA(key): /ɑːɡjuːˈmɛntəm æd ˈpɒpjʊləm/
Noun edit
argumentum ad populum (plural argumenta ad populum)
- (rhetoric) A fallacious argument that concludes a proposition to be true because many or all people believe it; it alleges that “if many believe so, it is so”.
- 2001, Martin Reisigl, Ruth Wodak, Discourse and Discrimination: Rhetorics of Racism and Antisemitism[1], page 166:
- The appeals to the public were also expressed differently: that is to say, much less by fallacious argumenta ad populum that played on the fears of the addressees, than by an appeal to rational insights, humanity and democracy.
Synonyms edit
- (“if many believe so, it is so”): argumentum ad numerum, bandwagon fallacy
Translations edit
fallacious argument
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