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Correlations Vs Causation

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Subject
English
School
West Coast University
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Homework
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Discussion Post
The vast number of research papers and scholarly papers written on arguments and logic
does not quite decrease the popularity of fallacies. According to Vaughn & MacDonald (2018),
the conception of fallacies is based on two main schools of thought. The first is that fallacies are
popular, but false beliefs and second, they are deceptively bad arguments. Regardless, it is
important to be able to tell good arguments from common fallacies especially so as to make
correct conclusions. One of the most common errors in judgement is the assumption that
correlation and causation can be used interchangeably. Confusing the two can be considered a
fallacy for a number of reasons.
First, many people that confuse the two fail establish logical grounds or evidence to
support the argument. While correlation means that there is a linear relationship between two
elements and the way they change, causation means that one event directly causes the other.
Therefore, correlation does not always imply causation (Vaughn & MacDonald, 2018). Arguing
that correlation implies causation means that the person is neglecting one or more factors that
could be causing the elements to behave in a way that could imply causation. Even in cases
where two events seem to be happening together, it is not necessarily accurate to imagine that
one is causing the other unless there are valid reasons to prove the causation.
The thinking that correlation implies causation is a fallacy because it comprises of an
erroneous argument. A good example of a deceptive argument is that the number of sailors has
declined steadily with the increase in global temperatures. While there could be a relationship
between the decline in the number of sailors and the rise in global temperatures, there is no
evidence to support causation.

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1 Discussion Post The vast number of research papers and scholarly papers written on arguments and logic does not quite decrease the popularity of fallacies. According to Vaughn & MacDonald (2018), the conception of fallacies is based on two main schools of thought. The first is that fallacies are popular, but false beliefs and second, they are deceptively bad arguments. Regardless, it is important to be able to tell good arguments from common fallacies especially so as to make correct conclusions. One of the most common errors in judgement is the assumption that correlation and causation can ...
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