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The Naturalistic Fallacy or Appeal to Nature is a logical fallacy that is committed whenever an argument attempts to derive what is good from what is natural. Originally it was considered a type of equivocation, wherein the word "good" was used in the sense of "pleasant" or "effective" in the premises, and in the sense of "moral" or "ethical" in the conclusion. Now it refers to any case in which someone refers to something as morally necessary simply because it is more natural.
The converse argument, where one assumes that whatever is good must be part of the natural order, is known as the "moralistic fallacy".
A trivial example:
P1. Apples are good to eat (meaning they are delicious or have nutritional value).
C. Therefore people who eat apples are better people (meaning more ethical).
A common Christian argument:
P1. Homosexuality is unnatural (meaning against the biological human drive to procreate or against the supposedly God-given purpose of sex).
C. Therefore homosexuality is wrong (ethically).
Note: the first premise here seems to be untrue, based on scientific investigation into the causes of homosexuality. The causes are not understood but natural biological processes are known to be factors in at least some cases.
Social Darwinism:
P1. Natural selection works because the weak/stupid/disabled die and the rest survive to reproduce.
C. The weak/stupid/disabled should therefore be allowed to die or be killed to keep the process going.
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