Philosophy:Questionable cause

Short description: Logical fallacy

The questionable cause—also known as causal fallacy, false cause, or non causa pro causa ("non-cause for cause" in Latin)—is a category of informal fallacies in which a cause is incorrectly identified.

For example: "Every time I go to sleep, the sun goes down. Therefore, my going to sleep causes the sun to set." The two events may coincide, but have no causal connection.

Fallacies of questionable cause include:

• Circular cause and consequence
• Correlation implies causation (cum hoc, ergo propter hoc)
  • Third-cause fallacy
  • Wrong direction
• Fallacy of the single cause
• Post hoc ergo propter hoc
• Regression fallacy
• Texas sharpshooter fallacy
• Jumping to conclusions
• Association fallacy
• Magical thinking

External links

• Non causa pro causa in the Fallacy Files by Gary N. Curtis