ABS Audio Newsletter: The Appeal to Nature Logical Fallacy
Issue 39: A discussion on a commonly used logical fallacy.
ISSUE 39:
Understanding the Naturalistic Fallacy.
Welcome to the 39th issue of the ABS newsletter! Today we will discuss a topic that seems to be a “go-to” explanation for why something is healthy or not. We are talking about something being called unhealthy due to it being “artificial” and not natural. This may seem to be of some value as many foods deemed “natural” are very health promoting. Fruits and veggies come to mind here. However, even this can be criticized for being genetically modified, not organic, etc. According to many gurus, quacks and charlatans these unnatural processes/states are inherently unhealthy.
Appeal to nature defined: a logical fallacy stating that an argument or decision is better because it follows nature's "rules" or "laws". The appeal to nature fallacy is a term that refers to the logic that if something is natural, it must be good and worthy of praise. This may seem like it makes good sense and is supported by the evidence. Issue is this fallacy is easily shown to be faulty. There are plenty of natural compounds and things that are not “good”, but rather incredibly detrimental to health.
Harmful compounds found in nature:
Arsenic (rice)
Cyanide (seeds/pits of some fruits)
Mercury
Pure sodium (Na)
Pure chlorine (Cl)
Hemlock
Additionally, there are plenty of natural occurrences that cause immense destruction. Lets discuss more together.
The outline of our conversation:
1. General intro.
2. What is the appeal to nature?
3. Why is it an illogical thought?
4. What is actually true?
5. My takeaways and motivational sendoff!
I greatly appreciate your viewership; catch you all in the comments. Stay tuned for the 40th issue next week! Hope everyone had a fantastic Christmas; and have a Happy New Year!