What is an appeal to tradition?
Q: What is an appeal to tradition?
A: An appeal to tradition is a fallacy where an idea is considered right because it is the way it was often done in the past.
Q: What are some other names for appeal to tradition?
A: Appeal to antiquity and appeal to common practice are other names for appeal to tradition.
Q: What form does an appeal to tradition take?
A: An appeal to tradition takes the form of "this is right because we've always done it this way".
Q: What is an example of appeal to tradition?
A: An example of appeal to tradition is "drinking boiling hot water (and never cold water) is always healthy because Chinese people have done it for thousands of years."
Q: What are the mistakes made in an appeal to tradition?
A: An appeal to tradition essentially makes two mistakes: the tradition might be entirely based on incorrect grounds, and the circumstances may have changed, so past justifications for the tradition may be invalid.
Q: What is the opposite of an appeal to tradition?
A: The opposite of an appeal to tradition is an appeal to novelty, claiming something is good because it is new.
Q: Why might past justifications for a tradition be invalid?
A: The circumstances may have changed, so past justifications for the tradition may be invalid.
