Hey what’s up Thinkers! Kathy Gibbens here…
Let’s start off with a quick review of a fallacy we covered earlier this season, the Argument to the Purse Fallacy. Ok, do you want to hit pause real quick and see if you can remember what the Argument to the Purse is? The Argument to the Purse Fallacy happens when someone tries to make or tries to dismiss an argument or position solely based on the wealth or financial status of the person presenting the argument.
The question to ask yourself if you think you’re facing an Argument to the Purse Fallacy is this: “Regardless of how wealthy they are, is their idea good or not?”
To review or hear more about this fallacy, go back & check out Episode 154.
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Alright guys, let’s dive into today’s new fallacy, the Appeal to the Law Fallacy. The Appeal to the Law Fallacy happens when someone says that since something is legal, it must be morally just. Or, since something is illegal, it must be morally wrong.
Here’s a simple example of what this sounds like. Have you ever heard of some of the silly, old laws that are still on the books in different cities or states? For instance, it’s illegal in some cities in Texas to sell Limburger cheese on a Sunday. So, I could say that because it’s illegal to sell Limburger cheese on Sunday, it’s therefore immoral to sell that cheese and that anyone who would do such a thing is an evil person. Ok, but we have to ask, is selling that type of cheese really immoral? No, there’s nothing immoral about selling that cheese on Sunday, and I have no idea how that law got passed originally, but it does make me laugh.
Or, how about this example: Scott & Derrick are in the back pasture tying up their younger brother Mark to a hay bale and throwing darts at him. Their Mom comes out and tells them to stop doing that immediately and they argue, “Why? We’re just having fun and besides, there’s no law against it! It’s not like we’re going to go to jail or anything.” Do you see the fallacy here? This is an example where something is wrong even if it’s not considered to be illegal.
The problem behind the Appeal to the Law Fallacy is that we can’t confuse what’s legal with what’s moral. There have been lots of laws passed that are immoral. And there are lots of things that are immoral that aren’t against the law. Now, what gets tricky with this is that different people have different standards for morality. As a Christian, I believe the Word of God is our standard for right & wrong, for morality, but we live in a country where not everyone believes that. They’re deciding what they think is moral from different standards and laws can get passed based on those other standards…does that make those laws moral? No, it doesn’t. We can’t assume that just because something is legal, it’s automatically good and right and just. And by that same token, we can’t assume that something isn’t wrong just because there’s no law against it.
A prime example of this is with abortion. Roe vs. Wade was passed in 1973, legalizing abortion in the US. Did that ruling automatically make abortion morally right? No, not at all. Same with slavery, there may have been times & places when slavery was legal, but that doesn’t mean it was ever morally right. Marijuana use may be legal in certain states, but does that mean it’s a good thing to be smoking? No.
So the question to ask yourself if you think you're facing an Appeal to the Law Fallacy is this: “That may be legal, but does that make it right?” *repeat*
Remember: When you learn HOW to think, you will no longer fall prey to those who are trying to tell you what THEY want you to think and it all starts with asking one simple question: “Is that really true?”
