Answer:
When writers or speakers use appeal to authority, they are claiming that something must be true because it is believed by someone who said to be an "authority" on the subject. Whether the person is actually an authority or not, the logic is unsound. Instead of presenting actual evidence, the argument just relies on the credibility of the "authority."
Examples of Appeal to Authority:
1. A commercial claims that a specific brand of cereal is the best way to start the day because athlete Michael Jordan says that it is what he eats every day for breakfast.
2. A book argues that global warming is not actually happening, and cites the research of one environmental scientist who has been studying climate change for several years.
3. Someone argues that drinking is morally wrong and cites a sermon from her pastor at church.
4. A little boy says that his friends should not go swimming in a river because his Mama said there were germs in the river.
5. A commercial claims that 3 out of 4 dentists would choose this particular brand of toothpaste for their own families to use.
6. My sister-in-law, who is a teacher, said that this school is not somewhere that I would want to send my children.
