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About RationalWiki Our purpose here at RationalWiki includes: Analyzing and refuting pseudoscience and the anti-science movement; Documenting the full range of crank ideas; Explorations of authoritarianism and fundamentalism; Analysis and criticism of how these subjects are handled in the media. We welcome contributors, and encourage those who disagree with us to register and engage in constructive dialogue. We have 7,965 articles for your enjoyment. Random featured article[What is this?] This box jellyfish is all-natural and therefore touching its tentacles is good for you and will send you into a state of reconnection with the earth-spirit through horrible pain and then death in a few minutes. An appeal to nature is a logical fallacy that occurs when something is assumed to be good because it is "natural" or bad because it is "unnatural". The fallacy is a naturalistic fallacy and thus an informal fallacy. The fallacy can be described in one of three ways: P1: A is natural. P2: B is not natural. C: A is better than B. P1: Natural is good. P2: A is natural. C: A is good. P1: Synthetic/unnatural is bad. P2: B is synthetic/unnatural. C: B is bad. Appeal to nature is a fallacious argument because the mere "naturalness" of something is unrelated to its positive or negative qualities – natural things can be bad or harmful (such as infant death and the jellyfish above), and unnatural things can be good (such as clothes, especially when you are in Siberia). Another problem is the distinction between what is "natural" and what is not, which can be murky: crude oil occurs naturally, but it's not something you'd like poured on seabirds or your garden. The word "natural" has no exact definition and can be used in multiple ways, thus allowing equivocation. Participate in RationalWiki RationalWiki portal: See our guide for newcomers! A brief history of RationalWiki... Share how you found RationalWiki! For general chatter that doesn't fit anywhere else, the Saloon Bar is the place to go. Essay portal: Essays written by individual users covering a wide range of subjects. Comment on the talk pages or write your own. Debate portal: Informal debates covering political and philosophical issues. Participate freely or start your own. Writing articles: Read up on what a RationalWiki page is and our community standards. Take a look at the help pages if you're having trouble. We also keep a list of useful links. Our to do list is where we pile up ideas for articles. See if anything piques your interest!

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