Evaluating an argument based on “intuition” or “gut feeling” that is unable to be articulated, rather than evaluating the argument using reason.
Examples:
- Nick: Did you know that if the sun were just a few miles closer to Earth, we would burn up, or if it were just a few miles further away we would all freeze? It is like someone put the sun there just for us! Suzy: Actually, the distance of the sun from Earth varies from about 91 million miles to 94.5 million miles, depending on the time of year. Nick: That can’t be right. The sun never appears a few million miles further away!
Synonyms: appeal to the gut