The Appeal to Nature Fallacy
The “Appeal to Nature” is a fallacious argument based on the assumption that anything natural is inherently good. The implication of which is that anything unnatural or man made is bad - or at best should be a merely tolerable (but distasteful) convenience. It fosters a belief that science and civilisation are forces of destruction or desecration, whilst nature is pure, honest and wholesome.
Claims are made in the horse world that certain techniques or ways of thinking are preferable and more ethical simply because they are perceived as more natural. The way I see it there is actually nothing very natural about horsemanship at all. A prey animal who’s primary means of survival is flight, allowing an apex predator to ride around on its back, using tools fashioned from the hide of other prey species seems like a pretty unnatural situation. Enclosed pastures, fences, barns, trailers have no equivalent in the natural world. The entire horse industry and the practice of horsemanship are unnatural man made occurrences – and that is okay, man made is not inherently bad.
A lot of damage is done in the world due to the appeal to nature fallacy. Uninformed people mistrust that which they do not understand, and it is entirely possible to build a world view based on limitations and flaws in critical thinking, whilst rationalising our opinions using a multitude of logical fallacies. With the “appeal to nature fallacy” - anti vaccine, anti GMO, and a mistrust of medical science in general creates situations where even intelligent individuals can cause harm to themselves or others due to their beliefs.
Being mauled or eaten by a bear is an entirely natural phenomena. I would not suggest this is a good experience in any way (except maybe for the bear?). A rattlesnake bite is a natural occurrence, as well as being stung by a wasp. Serious consequences can occur from an infected wound that is left to heal naturally with no medical intervention. This is all pretty morbid. But a to put the point across, “Nature wants 5 of your 7 children dead. It wants you dead by 50. Everything better than that is brought to you by science & technology.”
When we talk about the “natural” in horsemanship, what we mean is that we are looking to work with the horses’ natural instincts formed over millions of years of evolution. The more we understand horses, the more we can empathise with them and see the world from their point of view, the better a life we can provide for them, and the better a relationship we can have with them. All of our knowledge in the area of horsemanship has been achieved through the use and application of science, using critical and objective reasoning in order to understand the best way to interact with our horses.
It’s important to keep an open mind.
Some things in nature are good, some things in nature are bad.
Some man made things are bad, but some man made things are very good – take horsemanship for example.
