PP201 Chapter Notes - Chapter 10: Fallacy, Gloup, The Control Group
Document Summary
Causal arguments draw a conclusion that one class of things or events lead to or result in another class of things or events. Eating a high fat diet causes heart attacks. The causal arguments we study are statistical arguments they generalize from samples to populations. To evaluate them, we need to consider the means of collecting the sample, the similarity of sample to population, and the operationalization of the terms employed. Two things are true of every causal relationship: Arises from taking the temporal order of events as sufficient evidence for a causal conclusion. You did really well in school until you started handing out with max. It"s his fault you"re failing chemistry and math. The temporal order of events would not rule out a causal connection between max and the lower grades, but it cannot establish one either. Superstitious beliefs are often based on post hoc reasoning ex.
