Visual infographic and fallacy summary: Appeal to Incredulity
Definition & Logical Concept
You declare a claim false simply because it is hard for you to understand, or you cannot imagine how it could be true.
Practical Debate Example
Speaker A: „The universe is constantly expanding and time runs at different speeds in different places.“
Speaker B (Fallacy): „That's absolute nonsense! How could space just inflate by itself and time run differently? It goes against common sense!“
How to Counter & Defend
Highlight limits of intuition: 'Just because something is counter-intuitive doesn't make it false. Physical laws are backed by measurements and equations.'
Common Synonyms & Alternative Terms
appeal to incredulity • argumentum ad incredulitatem • logical fallacy • debate manipulation
Psychological Mechanism: Why It Works
Touha po odplatě a symetrickém vyrovnání křivdy zastírá morální a logickou nepřijatelnost vlastního činu.
Common Debate Scenarios
- encountering appeal to incredulity in debate
- when someone says "That's absolute nonsense! How could space just inflate by it..."
Easily Confused With
Informal logical fallacy