If you observe that Kelly Clarkson won American Idol 3 years before Carrie Underwood won, and you conclude that Kelly Clarkson winning caused Carrie Underwood to win 3 years later, you would be guilty of an error called the
A) fallacy of inductive reasoning.
B) fallacy of ceteris paribus.
C) fallacy of logic.
D) post hoc, ergo propter hoc fallacy.

Question

Quizplus · Accepted Answer

The "post hoc, ergo propter hoc" fallacy is the error of assuming that because one event occurred before another, it must have caused the second event. In this case, concluding that Kelly Clarkson's win caused Carrie Underwood's win simply because Clarkson's win came first is an example of this fallacy.

If You Observe That Kelly Clarkson Won American Idol 3