Understanding Mental Health: What is the Naturalistic Fallacy?

There can be no denying that the mere mention of the word "evolution" is enough to stir up an argument almost everywhere it is mentioned. However, far more practical than trying to understand evolution as a whole is instead looking at some of the central parts of the theory, and understanding what may cause some to find such disagreement with them. One of the most important, and seemingly most misunderstood, ideas that pertains to evolutionary theory as applied to human behavior is known as the "naturalistic fallacy".

What is this fallacy? The naturalistic fallacy is really nothing more than the name given to the idea that the way things are now and that the way they should be or were meant to be is the same. For a perfect example of this let us look at a very common male stereotype. We have all heard many times that men are fairly likely to cheat on their wives. Now, based on that, some may make the assertion that evolutionary theory has made men out to be that way. However, we need only take a few seconds to realize that this statement is not only false, it is flawed at it's core. Have men really evolved the idea that cheating is necessary? Of course not, and there are many men who remain happily married or dedicated to a single partner for their entire lives. However, because it seems to be the easy way out, and because we remember the exception far more than the rule, we have come to believe that males are evolutionarily designed to cheat. This is not the case, and the fact that we attribute the evolution of human behavior to this fact is known as the "naturalistic fallacy".

Quite simply, human behavior is incredibly complex, and to say that everything we do, say, or every action that we make can be understood as a part of evolution is not only incredibly flawed, it is vastly underestimating the entire spectrum of thought and human emotion.

Another application of the naturalistic fallacy is the idea that even if we are biologically disposed to do something, it is the necessary action, and the default behavior. For example, evolution would state that human beings have a natural ability to become angry and even violent when they are frustrated. Yet, this is not the standard. We learn from an early age that we have a responsibility and an obligation to act with respect and dignity, and to remain calm even when we do become frustrated. Thus, even if evolution has predisposed us to do something, that does not mean, in any way, that human beings are automatically going to act in that way.

Let us not create any illusions, human life, and the natural rules that we should be governed by are not pleasant. However, through civilization as we know it, we have come to be able to adapt to life, and create a pleasant and normal social environment for us all. However, if we are not careful to understand the naturalistic fallacy, and what it means to us, we may quickly come to lose both sight and understanding of what normal living is. We cannot interpret everything through evolution, and we completely mistake and misrepresent the world when do attempt to do such things.

Sources:
Composed from a class taken at Kutztown University
Personal knowledge used for article