Stating something to be true or good because it is new (modern, recent) is a fallacy called appeal to novelty, also known as argumentum ad novitatem. The argument judges that which is new to be better than the status quo.
Built-in Assumption: New = Good/True
Example 1:
Speaker A: “The Star Wars sequels are better than the originals.”
Speaker B: “You’re spitting nonsense. How are they better?”
Speaker A: “They are new.”
Star Wars may be a touchy subject for some readers, but it serves as a great example for this fallacy. Speaker A makes the case that the sequels are better based on the fact that they are new. The sequels may be better, but appealing to novelty isn’t a way to prove that. A critical examination of the movies is the way to go.
The fallacy occurs because the speaker assumes that recentness (novelty) plays a role in how good the movie is. However, appealing to novelty is permissible when the thing that is judged is truly defined by its recentness.
Example 2:
“The Star Wars sequels have better visual effects than the originals because they are new”
Example 3:
“Is your meat fresh? I don’t want anything stale”
In Example 2, the fallacy is not present. The speaker is appealing to novelty again, but the quality of visual effects are defined by the progress of technology. On the other hand, the quality of a movie is never defined by its recentness. Actors, directors, and writers are the ones that make a movie good.
Example 3 is self-explanatory. No need to explain that with some types of food, new is always better.
To conclude, an appeal to novelty is a fallacy because:
- The speaker considers what is new to be superior
- The speaker considers the status quo ineffective
- The speaker incorrectly assumes the quality of something to be defined by its recentness
Connection with other fallacies
The argumentum ad novitatem has its counterpart. Stating something to be true or good just because it is old (regularly done in the past). This fallacy is called appeal to tradition. It has a built-in assumption that new things are inferior and that the status quo should remain.
A common form that the appeal to novelty can take is chronological snobbery. A fallacy where someone argues that modern knowledge is the only relevant knowledge. Any insight coming from past times is irrelevant.
The way argumentum ad novitatem and chronological snobbery differ is in its universality. Appeal to novelty can be applied to anything, while chronological snobbery only judges art, culture, and science. Therefore, appeal to novelty is more general, and chronological snobbery is more specific.
More information:
A common
way to promote a product is appealing to novelty. How many big
corporations release products with average-quality and promote them
as superior because they are new. Have you bought a new version of
iPhone just because it is new? Have you bought a soda because the
packaging is new?