Appeal to Tradition Fallacy: Definition and Examples
Appeal to tradition fallacy is a common logical fallacy that is based on the assumption that a traditional practice must be good or better than its newer alternative.
It is often characterized by phrases such as “we have always done it this way”, and occurs especially frequently in discussions regarding political, religious, and certain types of controversial issues.
As John Locke, a well-known English philosopher, said:
“New opinions are always suspected, and usually opposed, without any other reason but because they are not already common.”
Explanation
The appeal to tradition fallacy occurs when someone claims that because an action or belief is traditional, it must be good or true.
In other words, it is based on the false assumption that if something has been done a certain way for a long time (that is, traditionally), it is necessarily the right way of doing it. For example, someone says that “in our family we’ve always been smoking, therefore I have to smoke too”.
Appeal to tradition takes often the form of “this is right because this is the way it’s always been done”, and it’s usually involved with general traditions, although in some rarer cases it may refer to traditions of an individual.
As such, this fallacy takes the following logical form:
- X has been done for a long time.
- Therefore, X is right or good.
Such a claim is considered fallacious because it’s based on historical preferences, instead of factual evidence; the only evidence it presents is that something is or has been a common practice. However, this alone does not prove that it must be a better or correct way of doing it.
Furthermore, if it was reasonable to appeal to traditions, it could be used to justify any wrong or discriminative belief that has been long-held, such as:
- “Gays have never had the legal right to marry, therefore it must be wrong and we shouldn’t be legalizing gay marriages now.”
- “The idea that the earth is flat is much older than the idea of a round earth, so we should bring it back.”
Examples
Here are a few more examples to further illustrate this fallacy:
- “Our family has a long tradition of male family members becoming lawyers; my great-grandfather, grandfather, and father were all lawyers. Thus, It’s the right and only option for me to become a lawyer too.”
- “People have believed in God for thousands of years, so it seems obvious to me that God exists.”
- “This medicine has been used by people since ancient history, therefore it must be an effective way to treat diseases.”
- Country Time Lemonade slogan: “Just like grandma used to make.”
Related Fallacies
Appeal to Novelty
The opposite of the previously explained fallacy is the appeal to novelty. It occurs when one assumes that something must be true or good because it’s new.
For example, if someone argues that a certain product must be better than its old version solely on the basis that it is newer, they are guilty of committing this logical fallacy.
Appeal to Nature
Appeal to nature is a fallacy in which one assumes that since something is “natural” it must be good, or conversely, if something is “unnatural” it must be bad.
These types of claims are frequently used in alternative medicine; for example, someone may insist that a particular herbal medicine must be a better or healthier option for treatment than a “synthetic” medicine (that is, caused by human intervention) simply because it is natural.
Originally published at https://fallacyinlogic.com on January 14, 2020.
