One cause, automatic improvement, and slippery slopes

Causal arguments can fail even when they identify a real contributing factor. They may treat that factor as the whole explanation, credit an intervention for an ordinary return toward normal, or turn a possible chain of events into an inevitable disaster.

This lesson explains causal oversimplification, the regression fallacy, and slippery-slope arguments. Each asks us to examine the missing steps between the proposed cause and the conclusion.