Trisha Shetty (Editor)

Questionable cause

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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.

An example that clearly states what false cause is can be given by, Every time I go to sleep, the sun goes down. Therefore, my going to sleep causes the sun to set.

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
  • References

    Questionable cause Wikipedia