Definition:
A fallacy that uses emotionally loaded terms to influence an audience. See also: connotation.
Examples and Observations:
- "In politics, association is often accomplished by name-calling--linking a person or idea to a negative symbol. The persuader hopes that the receiver will reject the person or idea on the basis of the negative symbol, rather than by examining the evidence. For example, those who oppose budget cuts may refer to fiscally conservative politicians as 'stingy,' thus creating a negative association, although the same person could equally be referred to as 'thrifty' by supporters. Similarly, candidates have a list of negative words and phrases that they use when speaking about their opponents. Some of these are betray, coercion, collapse, corruption, crisis, decay, destroy, endanger, failure, greed, hypocrisy, incompetent, insecure, liberal, permissive attitude, shallow, sick, traitors, and unionized."
(Herbert W. Simons, Persuasion in Society, Sage, 2001) - "'The president sends out his attack dog often,' said [Senator Henry] Reid. 'That’s also known as Dick Cheney.' . . .
"Mr. Reid said he was not going to engage in a tit-for-tat with the vice president. 'I’m not going to get into a name-calling match with somebody who has a 9 percent approval rating,' Mr. Reid said."
(Carl Hulse and Jeff Zeleny, "Bush and Cheney Chide Democrats on Iraq Deadline," The New York Times, April 25, 2007) - "During the Senate confirmation hearings of Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas, Anita Hill accused him of sexual harassment. Thomas denied the accusation. . . .
"During the hearings Hill, a graduate of Yale Law School and a tenured professor of law at Oklahoma State University, was labeled 'a fantasizer,' 'a spurned woman,' 'an incompetent professional,' and 'a perjurer.'"
(Jon Stratton, Critical Thinking for College Students, Rowman & Littlefield, 1999)
