Saturday, November 20, 2010

Post Hoc Ergo Propter Hoc

There are moments in my life where I just make assumptions of the cause that led up to that particular effect at hand. These assumed causes create a post hoc ergo propter hoc, which is essentially jumping to a conclusion by thinking that whatever happened after that occurrence is the cause of it. It's a person's way of using their imagination to come up with a cause in order to understand the reasoning behind it. Yet, jumping to a conclusion omits any chance of other causes being the reason of the effect.

Example:
Ever since Mia Hamm visited our soccer team during practice, we have been on a winning streak by beating our opponents at every soccer match.

--> This reasoning that the soccer team is winning all their games ever since Mia Hamm made a special appearance during their practice is a mere coincidence. The reason the soccer team is on a winning streak could be due to the players practicing more or their determination to win in each match.


No comments:

Post a Comment