← Fallacy Library
Appeal to Tradition
Logical fallacyTreating the length of time a practice has continued as a reason to continue it. Age is not a justification; it only tells you the practice is old.
An everyday example
“We have always kept the accounts on paper, so there is no reason to change now.”
The same move in this debate
“Humans have eaten meat for thousands of years, so we should carry on.”
Where this appears
We've always eaten meatTradition & Culture
Offers the age of the practice as the reason for continuing it, which at most establishes that it is old.
It's part of my cultureTradition & Culture
Cultural embeddedness is offered as the justification. This is the same structure as 'we have always done it', carrying a stronger and more sympathetic emotional claim.