Editing Questionable cause

{{Short description|Logical fallacy}}{{disputed|Questionable cause = false cause?|date=September 2011}}
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 fallacy|informal fallacies]] in which the [[causality|cause]] or causes is/are incorrectly identified. In other words, it is a fallacy of reaching a conclusion that one thing caused another, simply because they are regularly associated.

Questionable cause can be logically reduced to: "A is regularly associated with B; therefore, A causes B."<ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.logicallyfallacious.com/logicalfallacies/Questionable-Cause | title=Questionable Cause }}</ref>

For example: "Every time I score an A on the test its a sunny day. Therefore the sunny day causes me to score well on the test." Here is the example the two events may coincide or correlate, but have no causal connection.<ref>{{Cite web|last=Bennett|first=Bo|url=https://www.logicallyfallacious.com/tools/lp/Bo/LogicalFallacies/148/Questionable_Cause|title=Questionable Cause|website=logicallyfallacious.com|access-date=2016-11-23}}</ref>

Fallacies of questionable cause include:
* [[Circular cause and consequence]]{{citation needed|date=October 2014}}
* [[Correlation does not imply causation|Correlation implies causation]] (''cum hoc, ergo propter hoc'')
** [[Third-cause fallacy]]
** [[Wrong direction]]
* [[Fallacy of the single cause]]
* ''[[Post hoc ergo propter hoc]]''
* [[Observational interpretation fallacy]]
* [[Regression fallacy]]
* [[Texas sharpshooter fallacy]]
* [[Jumping to conclusions]]
* [[Association fallacy]]
* [[Magical thinking]]

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==External links==
* ''[http://www.fallacyfiles.org/noncause.html Non causa pro causa]'' in the ''Fallacy Files'' by Gary N. Curtis

{{Fallacies}}

[[Category:Causal fallacies| ]]
[[Category:Informal fallacies]]