Peer Fallacy Discussion Reply Apa Style Reply

Critical Reasoning

Fallacy Discussion Prompt Reply to each Peer

Fallacy Discussion Reply 1 James:

Often we hear the phrase, “Correlation does not equal causation.” Something really worth remembering throughout your entire life. It is a fallacy to confuse causation and correlation because they mean to entirely different things. Unless there is a causal action occurring on the subject or object question, than it simply correlates with what is currently happening. (Moore & Parker, 2017).

The text provides a great example of this when it speaks to how the incumbent president won 17 out of 18 times when the Washington Redskins won their last home game. Does the action of the Washington Redskins influence voters to vote for the incumbent president? Does it cause more people to go out and vote? Does it in any way, shape, or form truly effect the outcome of the presidential election? No. It has no discernible causal effect on the presidential election, it just so happens to, well, happen. With that said, an abuse of power or high profile scandal could influence voters to rethink voting for the incumbent president, and that would be a causation. There is a causal action taking place in this imagined instance.

One example I have is from when I played baseball back in high school. If I pitched a game and didn’t give up any runs, I would not wash my jersey, a very superstitious thing for me to do. Does not washing my jersey make me a better pitcher? Did it allow me to throw harder, more accurately, and really get a snap to my breaking ball? No. You could argue that since I was a superstitious, it put me in a different psychological mindset, which allowed me to play better. However, did it actually cause me to pitch better? No, just another example of confusing causation with correlation.

References

Moore, B., Parker, R. (2017). Critical thinking. Retrieved fromhttps://online.vitalsource.com/#/books/1260184714/…

Fallacy Discussion Reply 2 JayPear:

Hi Class. Sasower (2017) states “Causality and correlation are often confused with each other by an eager public when a relationship between two events is claimed to be necessary (or inevitable) rather than occasional (or coincidental).”Correlation proves causation is believed to be logical fallacy as by two events occuring together has its claim for a cause and effect relationship. Assumption is made as one is the cause for another (Proofed, 2019). Misunderstanding of the relationship in between the variables can occur which can be ca cause for mix up. An example that confuses causation with correlation includes “After you drove my car it was hard to start. Therefore, it was something you did that made my car hard to start” (Moore, 2017). Moore describes this as a post hoc fallacy. I used this example as I can relate to it, as I did get the blame for it before!

References:

Moore, B. N., Parker, R.Critical Thinking.[VitalSource Bookshelf]. Retrieved from https://online.vitalsource.com/#/books/1260184714/

Proofed. (2019, December 19). The False Cause Fallacy: Correlation Does Not Equal Causation. Retrieved from https://getproofed.com/writing-tips/false-cause-fa…

Sasower, R. (2017, March 30). Causality and Correlation. Retrieved from https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1002/9…