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Post hoc fallacy

Assuming that because one event followed another, the first event caused the second.

Published 04 August 2026Updated 04 August 2026

The post hoc fallacy mistakes temporal sequence for causation. Establishing cause requires more than “after”: look for a plausible mechanism, comparison cases, repeated patterns, and alternative explanations.

Sources

Fallacies (Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy)

Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy / 2024 / Website

Canonical philosophical treatment of fallacy types.