Editing Post hoc ergo propter hoc (section)

{{short description|Fallacy of assumption of causality based on sequence of events}}
{{About|the informal fallacy|the West Wing episode|Post Hoc, Ergo Propter Hoc (The West Wing)||Post hoc (disambiguation){{!}}Post hoc}}{{Italic title}}
'''''Post hoc ergo propter hoc''''' ([[Latin]]: 'after this, therefore because of this') is an [[informal fallacy]] that states "Since event Y ''followed'' event X, event Y must have been ''caused'' by event X." It is a fallacy in which an event is presumed to have been caused by a closely preceding event merely on the grounds of temporal succession. This type of reasoning is fallacious because mere temporal succession does not establish a causal connection. It is often shortened simply to '''''post hoc fallacy'''''. A [[logical fallacy]] of the [[questionable cause]] variety, it is subtly different from the fallacy ''[[correlation does not imply causation#General pattern|cum hoc ergo propter hoc]]'' ('with this, therefore because of this'), in which two events occur simultaneously or the chronological ordering is insignificant or unknown. Post hoc is a logical fallacy in which one event seems to be the cause of a later event because it occurred earlier.<ref>{{Cite journal|last=Grouse|first=Lawrence|title=Post hoc ergo propter hoc|journal=Journal of Thoracic Disease|year=2016|volume=8|issue=7|pages=E511–E512|doi=10.21037/jtd.2016.04.49|issn=2072-1439|pmc=4958779|pmid=27499984 |doi-access=free }}</ref>

''Post hoc'' is a particularly tempting error because correlation sometimes appears to suggest [[causality]]. The fallacy lies in a conclusion based ''solely'' on the order of events, rather than taking into account other factors potentially responsible for the result that might rule out the connection.<ref>{{Cite web|title=post hoc|url=https://www.law.cornell.edu/wex/post_hoc|access-date=2021-08-28|website=LII / Legal Information Institute|language=en}}</ref>

A simple example is "The [[Chicken#Crowing|rooster crows]] immediately before [[sunrise]]; therefore the rooster causes the sun to rise."<ref>{{Cite web|date=2015-10-09|title=Correlation vs Causation|url=https://knowledgespace.com.au/correlation-vs-causation/|access-date=2021-08-28|website=KnowledgeSpace|language=en-US}}</ref>