Summary

The author points to the disagreeable consequences of holding a particular belief in order to show that this belief is false. Also known as argumentum ad consequentiam.

Examples

1. You can't agree that evolution is true, because if it were, then we would be no better than monkeys and apes.
2. You must believe in God, for otherwise life would have no meaning. (Perhaps, but it is equally possible that since life has no meaning that God does not exist.)

Proof

Identify the consequences and argue that what we want to be the case does not affect what is in fact the case.