Appeal to the law

An appeal to the law (argumentum ad legem in Latin) is an informal fallacy in which someone tries to encourage or defend an action purely because it is legal, or tries to condemn an action as morally reprehensible, purely because it is illegal.[1] This line of reasoning is faulty because although the law of the land is important, it does not necessarily match up with the morality or sensibility of an action.[2][3][4]

Examples
  • "In some states, it is illegal to feed the homeless. Thus, feeding the homeless in those states is immoral."
  • "So what if I cheated on my husband? It's not like being unfaithful is a crime!"
  • "There's nothing illegal about hoarding toilet paper during a pandemic, therefore it is a good idea."

See also

References
  1. "'Well, It's Not Illegal!' | University of Central Florida News". University of Central Florida News | UCF Today. 2019-05-22. Archived from the original on 2022-03-24. Retrieved 2022-06-07.
  2. "Appeal to the Law". www.logicallyfallacious.com. Retrieved 2022-06-07.
  3. "Appeal to Legality: Is it Moral if it's the Law?". Cerebralistic. 2020-02-21. Archived from the original on 2021-03-04. Retrieved 2022-06-07.
  4. "Ethics and Law". www.qcc.cuny.edu. Archived from the original on 2021-11-28. Retrieved 2022-06-07.
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