Prejudicial Language
Category: Appeals to Motives in Place of Support
Definition: Value or moral goodness is attached to believing the author
Examples:
- Right thinking Canadians will agree with me that we should have another free vote on capital punishment.
, - A reasonable person would agree that our income statement is too low. (Note: this is distinct from the legal standard of 'a reasonable person').
, - Senator Turner claims that the new tax rate will reduce the deficit. (Here, the use of "claims" implies that what Turner says is false.)
, - The proposal is likely to be resisted by the bureaucrats on Parliament Hill. (Compare this to: The proposal is likely to be rejected by officials on Parliament Hill.)
Proof:
Loaded or emotive terms are used to attach value or moral goodness to believing the proposition.
Identify the prejudicial terms used (eg. "Right thinking Canadians" or "A reasonable person"). Show that disagreeing with the conclusion does not make a person "wrong thinking" or "unreasonable". (Cedarblom and Paulsen: 153, Davis: 62)