This task involves writing an essay in which you connect either Frankenstein or Brave New World to the concept of the naturalistic fallacy: the concept that whatever is natural is right.

Concept of the naturalistic fallacy

Essay Question Two: Write an essay in which you connect either Frankenstein or Brave New World to the concept of the naturalistic fallacy: the concept that whatever is natural is right. According to evolutionary psychologist Steven Pinker, The naturalistic fallacy is the idea that what is found in nature is good. It was the basis for social Darwinism, the belief that helping the poor and sick would get in the way of evolution, which depends on the survival of the fittest.

Concept of the naturalistic fallacy

Today, biologists denounce the naturalistic fallacy because they want to describe the natural world honestly, without people deriving morals about how we ought to behave (as in: If birds and beasts engage in adultery, infanticide, cannibalism, it must be OK). Why should we strive to avoid the naturalistic fallacy? In other words, shouldn’t nature offer us guidelines for an understanding of right and wrong? Consider how the idea of survival of the fittest relates to either of the novels we have read so far.

Concept of the naturalistic fallacy

Ask yourself how what morals play out in these novels that genuinely describe the natural world. For example, how do Victor Frankenstein’s actions reflect behaviors found in the natural world? How does the rejection of nature in Brave New World relate to these concepts? Your essay should comprise a careful discussion of how the naturalistic fallacy (as well as the reality of nature) relates to your chosen novel. https://youtu.be/4zklF0QJEKI

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