Discussion Question Number Three: Part Seven

Appeal to Spite


Appeal to Spite may inadvertently appear under certain circumstances, as for example, Epstein creates an instance where two friends are helping a third friend out with something. One of the friend's helping out discusses and questions the other friend's willingness to help, reminding him of the time where the third friend who is being helped with now refused to help fix his fence the week prior. The appeal is describes as the "hope of revenge" (193). It can be viewed or considered slightly immoral, in a sense, because of its initial placement of bringing up the event in the first place out of thin air. The argument in itself is most of the time a questionable claim and absurd in a logical sense.

Another example was the occurrence of a school election. A student liked the candidate's presentation most, and therefore decided to vote for that person. A friends hears this devision, and reminds the person of how the candidate did not support him by voting for him in another occurrence, and because of that, shouldn't vote for the initially chosen candidate. The person is convinced by something that shouldn't be taken onto account. The time and remembrance of that betrayal made the person forward that enraged feeling be affect his decision (with some sort of revenge) and that becomes Appeal to Spite.