Hey what’s up Thinkers! Kathy Gibbens here…
I’m going to start off by reviewing one of the funniest fallacies I learned about while making this podcast, the If By Whiskey Fallacy. The ‘If by whiskey’ fallacy happens when someone argues both sides of an argument in a way that both people for the argument and people against the argument will agree with them! It’s typically used in politics to support both sides of a particular issue.
Question to ask yourself: “What does this person really believe?”
And, it’s a really funny story about how this fallacy got its name, so if you don’t remember, or want to hear more about this fallacy, go back & check out Episode 112.
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Alright, let’s dive into today’s new fallacy. In the last episode, we talked about the Appeal to Force Fallacy, where someone tries to get you to do something by forcing you. Today, we’re going to discuss the exact opposite fallacy, the Appeal to Bribery. The Appeal to Bribery happens when someone tries to get you to do something by giving you money, nice things or extra benefits. Now, I’ll say this, I’m not sure that an Appeal to Bribery is technically considered a logical fallacy, some sources say yes, some sources say no, but I still wanted to cover it because it definitely happens and is something you need to know about so you can recognize it if or when it happens.
A simple example of bribery is Silas who is competing for a class president position. To win votes, he starts telling other students: "Vote for me, and I'll give each of you free pizza every week if I win." In this example, Silas is making an Appeal to Bribery by attempting to influence the voters with the promise of free pizza. The argument for his candidacy is based on the potential personal gain that they could get if they vote for him rather than his qualifications or his ability to serve as class president.
Here’s another example: Let’s say a company is seeking a contract with a government organization.
Company Representative: "If you award us the contract, we'll make a substantial donation to your reelection campaign." In this case, the Company Representative is using an Appeal to Bribery by offering a donation to the government official's reelection campaign in exchange for being awarded the contract. The decision is being influenced by the promise of financial gain rather than the merits or suitability of the company's proposal.
Again, the problem behind the Appeal to Bribery is that they’re not making a good argument for WHY you should do whatever it is they're wanting you to do, they’re just giving you stuff and hoping that whatever they gave you will convince you to ignore the fact that they have no good argument. Bribery is a big problem because it makes things unfair and not based on who deserves it. When people give or take bribes, it means they're using money or favors to get what they want, even if they don't deserve it. This makes people lose trust and encourages bad behavior.
A real life case of bribery happened in 2019 where 50 people, including sports coaches, & Hollywood celebrities were charged with bribery, where they paid $ to get their kids into certain elite colleges here in the US. Federal authorities called it the biggest college admissions scam ever prosecuted by the U.S. Justice Department, with the parents accused of paying an estimated $25 million in bribes. Can you see how unfair it is to have certain families paying lots of money to get their kids into a college, regardless of whether or not those kids are actually qualified to attend that college? They take the place of the kids who were qualified and really deserved to be there.
Question to ask yourself if you think you’re facing a bribe is this: “Are they trying to pay me off to do what they want?” *repeat*
Remember: When you learn HOW to think, you will no longer fall prey to those who are trying to tell you what THEY want you to think and it all starts with asking one simple question: “Is that really true?”
