What is the difference between pathetic fallacy and appeal to pathos?

Pathetic fallacy and appeal to pathos sound similar but they refer to entirely different things.

Pathetic fallacy is a figure of speech, at least in most contexts, and not a reasoning error. It refers to attributing human emotions to something non-human in novels or poems..
Appeal to pathos, on the other hand, is a logical fallacy in which the speaker or author takes advantage of emotions like fear or love for one’s family etc., to convince their audience instead of using rational arguments.

In other words, pathetic fallacy and appeal to pathos both relate to pathos or emotion but to a different end.

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Types of editing	Available at Scribbr?
Proofreading Correction of superficial mistakes, such as typos, misspellings, punctuation errors and consistency errors.	Yes! This is the “proofreading” in Scribbr’s standard service. It can only be selected in combination with editing.
Copy editing Focus on grammar, syntax, style, tone and the conventions of the field. The editor also considers the internal logic of the text and flags any obvious contradictions.	Yes! This is the “editing” in Scribbr’s standard service. It can only be selected in combination with proofreading.
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Frequently asked questions

What is the difference between pathetic fallacy and appeal to pathos?

Questions?

Ask our team

Frequently asked questions

How does the sample edit work?