Fallacy · Changing the subject
Appeal to consequences
Also called: Wishful thinking
Deciding whether something is true by whether you would like the result.
What it is
Whether a claim is true and whether it would be pleasant if it were true are separate questions. A diagnosis can be unwelcome and correct, and a rumor can be comforting and false. Letting the consequences decide the facts leaves us believing what we want rather than what is so.
An example
“If the bridge really needs repairs, the town can’t afford it, so the engineers must be exaggerating.” The cost of the repair does not change the state of the bridge.
How to spot it
The argument is about how good or bad it would be if the claim were true, not about whether it is.
How to answer it
“It would be expensive, I agree. But is the bridge safe or not?”
When it is not a fallacy
Consequences are exactly the right thing to weigh when the question is what to do, rather than what is true.
Printable sheet of all fallacies
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A plain reference you can paste into notes or an essay:
Quest2Reason. “Appeal to consequences.” https://quest2reason.com/learn/ideas/fallacies/appeal-to-consequences. Accessed 14 November 2026.