# Questionable cause

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{{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](/source/Latin))—is a category of [informal fallacies](/source/informal_fallacy) in which the [cause](/source/causality) 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](/source/Circular_cause_and_consequence){{citation needed|date=October 2014}}
* [Correlation implies causation](/source/Correlation_does_not_imply_causation) (''cum hoc, ergo propter hoc'')
** [Third-cause fallacy](/source/Third-cause_fallacy)
** [Wrong direction](/source/Wrong_direction)
* [Fallacy of the single cause](/source/Fallacy_of_the_single_cause)
* ''[Post hoc ergo propter hoc](/source/Post_hoc_ergo_propter_hoc)''
* [Observational interpretation fallacy](/source/Observational_interpretation_fallacy)
* [Regression fallacy](/source/Regression_fallacy)
* [Texas sharpshooter fallacy](/source/Texas_sharpshooter_fallacy)
* [Jumping to conclusions](/source/Jumping_to_conclusions)
* [Association fallacy](/source/Association_fallacy)
* [Magical thinking](/source/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

{{logics-stub}}

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Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Questionable cause](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Questionable_cause) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Questionable_cause?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.