In general, appeals to people of the form “You already agree with me that this is right, you’re just lying to yourself and that’s why you don’t do it,” are not apt to be well-received. Such appeals combine the belief that the right thing to do is obvious (which is often false) and that the person you address is actually deceiving themself (which is also often false).
Consider:
“You already know Jesus is God, you’re resisting His grace because of your attachment to sin, but I know you can turn away from the darkness.”
Or
“You already know Christianity is false, you’re just staying in it because it is comfortable, I know you can face the truth of atheism.”
Both from opposite perspectives, but both quite irritating to hear, and both including statements about the listener’s internal state that are often just false. I think this kind of appeal is a result of expecting short inferential distances
In general, appeals to people of the form “You already agree with me that this is right, you’re just lying to yourself and that’s why you don’t do it,” are not apt to be well-received. Such appeals combine the belief that the right thing to do is obvious (which is often false) and that the person you address is actually deceiving themself (which is also often false).
Consider:
“You already know Jesus is God, you’re resisting His grace because of your attachment to sin, but I know you can turn away from the darkness.” Or “You already know Christianity is false, you’re just staying in it because it is comfortable, I know you can face the truth of atheism.”
Both from opposite perspectives, but both quite irritating to hear, and both including statements about the listener’s internal state that are often just false. I think this kind of appeal is a result of expecting short inferential distances