# Appeal to flattery

*Also called: Apple polishing*

- **Cluster:** Emotional pressure — Feeling recruited to do the work of evidence
- **Page:** https://fallacy.wiki/fallacy/flattery/
- **In Arabic:** https://fallacy.wiki/ar/fallacy/flattery.md
- **Licence:** CC BY 4.0 — https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

## What it is

Using praise to secure agreement rather than giving reasons.

## In the wild

> A smart person like you will obviously agree.

## How to answer it

Take the compliment, then ask for the argument.

## Origin and naming

Also called apple polishing or the appeal to pride, sometimes given the Latin 'argumentum ad superbiam'. Rhetoric manuals have long warned that praise slipped in before a request launders the request into something that feels earned.

## More places it shows up

- You've got the best eye for copy on this team — proofread my resignation email, and tell me it's not the smartest exit anyone's written.
- Only a truly sophisticated investor understands this opportunity; shall I put you down for the premium tier?
- A reviewer as fair-minded as you will obviously see my paper deserves acceptance, whatever the formal criteria say.
- Dad, you always taught me generosity is a virtue — so lending me money again is really just you living your values.

## How to spot it

- Notice when the compliment lands one beat before the request, never after.
- Notice when disagreement is framed as falling short of a quality you were just told you have.
- Notice when your identity is doing the work that evidence should be doing.

## Nearby

- [Appeal to emotion](https://fallacy.wiki/fallacy/appeal-emotion.md)
- [Snob appeal](https://fallacy.wiki/fallacy/snob-appeal.md)

## Read more

- [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Appeal_to_flattery)
- [Logically Fallacious](https://www.logicallyfallacious.com/logicalfallacies/Appeal-to-Flattery)

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From fallacy.wiki — a bilingual field guide to 91 logical fallacies, published by phi holdings. Licensed CC BY 4.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/): reuse freely with attribution to fallacy.wiki.