Firmitas

Logical fallacy: Argument from Beauty


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© 2011-2019 by Zack Smith. All rights reserved.

Argument from Beauty

This form of argument consists of saying that because there is something in the world that is beautiful, either physically or conceptually, it follows that a secondary claim is true.

Its form
  • There exists beauty in the world.
  • Therefore some Proposition A is true.

Its inverse is the Argument from Ugliness, where a person tries to argue that a secondary claim is true because something in the world is ugly or evil, be that physically or not:

  • There exists ugliness in the world.
  • Therefore some Proposition B is true.

Examples

Look at the examples of Mozart, Beethoven and Shakespeare. If such beautiful music or writing can exist in the world, surely that proves that XYZ god exists. (Argument from Beauty.)

The world has become so overpopulated with selfish morons, there is simply no point in supporting socialistic programs any more. (Argument from Ugliness.)

A tiger is a wonder of Nature, therefore we should buy a tiger cub and raise it like a pet.

A tiger is a dangerous predator bent on killing people, therefore let's kill off all of them.

Weaknesses

Argument from Beauty and Argument from Ugliness are both over-dramatic attempts at persuading emotions. They are merely Red Herrings, meaning the first claim has no bearing on truth of the second claim.

Thus you merely need point out that the first claim is independent of the second claim. The truth or falsehood of the second claim needs to be determined on its own merits.


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