Logical Fallacy of Emotion-Biased Decision-Making Phenomenon

The Logical Fallacy of Emotion-Biased Decision-Making Phenomenon occurs when a decision is influenced by emotion and then rationalized to make it appear to be based on facts and logic. Keep in mind that it is also a fallacy to claim that emotions have no place in decision-making. A false dichotomy is often made between emotion and rational thought. What is important is the source of the emotion. For instance, when you get a certain check, often a feeling, in your innermost mind (heart), it is very foolish to ignore it and blunder forward. If you cannot get peace about a certain decision, it is very foolish to ignore the apprehension and rush in having only what you can rationalize. There may be times when you have fear and yet you know that God’s will is for you to do something such as to confess that you have done something wrong. In these cases, you must obey God. Yet, there are also times where you have constructed an amazing mathematical case for making a certain decision, but every time you think about it, you can’t seem to feel right about it. In those cases, you must go to the basis of your amazing mathematical case. Have you made any assumptions (something we do without thinking about it)? Are you sure that this is the exact decision that God has led you to? How do you know?

Examples of the Logical Fallacy of Emotion-Biased Decision-Making Phenomenon

• Logical Fallacy of Magic Words: occurs when certain words are used as proof rather than providing actual proof. Magic words tend to give automatic credibility. Magic words include the following: Biblical, science, research, experimentation, scientific fact, logic, reason, and scientist. EXAMPLE The word, "science," is used to sell products, sell political ideas such as global warming, and to sell religious ideas such as big bang, molecules-to-man, or no-floodism. EXAMPLE Entertainer, Michael Gungor: “Do I believe that God literally drowned every living creature 5,000 years ago in a global flood except the ones who were living in a big boat? No, I don’t. Why don’t I? Because of science and rational thought.” Michael uses that magic words, science and rational thought rather than answering his own question in a rational way. He did follow this up with many irrational arguments against the flood, of course.
• Pollyanna's Ploy, Unbridled Optimism: occurs when warnings, reprimands, signs of danger, etc. are ignored. This is the opposite side of the appeal to fear fallacy. There are times to change course because disaster is imminent. Risk management can sometimes avoid or mitigate future problems. EXAMPLE Rocky: “Look out. The cliff is right behind you. It’s time to stop walking backwards.” Sandy: “Nothing bad will happen.” EXAMPLE Rocky: “Since you have already admitted that you don’t meet God’s acceptable level of righteousness (you have used the name of Jesus as a curse word, stolen, lusted after women, and hated people), and God is a righteous judge, if you would die tomorrow, would God give you Heaven or Hell?” Sandy: “Hell, but I would be fine in Hell.” Rocky: “One who becomes stiff-necked, after many reprimands will be shattered instantly-- beyond recovery. Proverbs 29:1”
• Chicken Little's Fear and Pessimism: occurs when a vision of hope is given, yet fear and bitterness persist.
• Making decisions based on:
  • emotion (your own or someone else's)
  • threats of force
  • someone's vehemence
  • someone's appeal veneration
  • envy
  • someone's shaming of you (falsely)--responding to the resulting feeling of guilt
  • poetic language
  • false bravado
  • hifalutin' denunciations
  • wanting to be flattered
  • avoiding ridicule
  • magic words
  • motivated reasoning