Tradition Is Not Always Right - Essay Example

One of my most memorable times related to the use of logical fallacies as a persuasive argument is when a friend tried to persuade me that tobacco is good based on the argument that it has been used as an indigenous medicine in various cultures for many centuries and, therefore, it must be good. Although the argument may be appealing because people often love to stick to something traditional since they assume that it may be true because it passed the test of time, I realized the argument was deceptive and rejected it as a fallacy. I particularly countered my friend’s fallacious reasoning by arguing that something does not automatically become right simply because it has always been practiced (Trufant 34).

I argued that even though it may be true that Tobacco has been used for centuries as medicine by Indigenous Americans, Europeans, and other societies, this does not necessarily justify that Tobacco use is good. On the contrary, it is a proven fact that tobacco is currently one of the largest causes of preventable deaths in the world and millions of tobacco users die each year across the globe from smoking-related health conditions. For example, tobacco use is responsible for numerous diseases and long-term health problems such as cancer, heart condition, respiratory diseases, as well as premature death. In addition, billions of dollars are currently being lost each year from the loss of productivity that results from smoking-related deaths as well as in terms of the expenses incurred in the treatment of diseases and conditions associated with tobacco use. Finally, recent studies have also pointed out that tobacco use may significantly undermine the health of nonsmokers through passive smoking.

Although the notion that something is good because it has always been done that way may seem superficially sound and is popular in many debate rounds, traditions can not justify that something is good.