Wrong direction
Encyclopedia
Wrong direction is a logical fallacy of causation
where cause and effect are reversed. The cause is said to be the effect and vice versa.
For instance, the statement:
In other cases it may simply be unclear which is the cause and which is the effect. For example:
This could easily be the other way round; that is, violent children like watching more TV than less violent ones.
Likewise, a correlation between recreational drug use and psychiatric disorders might be either way around: perhaps the drugs cause the disorders, or perhaps people use drugs to self medicate
for preexisting conditions.
Gateway drug theory may argue that marijuana usage leads to usage of harder drugs, but hard drug usage may lead to marijuana usage (see also confusion of the inverse
). Indeed in the social sciences where controlled experiments often cannot be used to discern the direction of causation, this fallacy can fuel long-standing scientific arguments. One such example can be found in education economics
, between the screening
/signaling
and human capital
models: it could either be that having innate ability enables one to complete an education, or that completing an education builds one's ability.
A historical example of this is that Europeans in the Middle Ages
believed that lice
were beneficial to your health, since there would rarely be any lice on sick people. The reasoning was that the people got sick because the lice left. The real reason however is that lice are extremely sensitive to body temperature. A small increase of body temperature, such as in a fever
, will make the lice look for another host. The medical thermometer
had not yet been invented, so this increase in temperature was rarely noticed. Noticeable symptoms came later, giving the impression that the lice left before the person got sick.
In other cases, two phenomena can each be a partial cause of the other; consider poverty and lack of education, or procrastination and poor self-esteem. One making an argument based on these two phenomena must however be careful to avoid the fallacy of circular cause and consequence. Poverty is a cause of lack of education, but it is not the sole cause, and vice versa.
Questionable cause
Fallacies of questionable cause, also known as causal fallacies, non causa pro causa or false cause, are informal fallacies where a cause is incorrectly identified...
where cause and effect are reversed. The cause is said to be the effect and vice versa.
For instance, the statement:
- Driving a wheelchair is dangerous, because most people who drive them have had an accident.
In other cases it may simply be unclear which is the cause and which is the effect. For example:
- Children that watch a lot of TVTelevisionTelevision is a telecommunication medium for transmitting and receiving moving images that can be monochrome or colored, with accompanying sound...
are the most violent. Clearly, TV makes children more violent.
This could easily be the other way round; that is, violent children like watching more TV than less violent ones.
Likewise, a correlation between recreational drug use and psychiatric disorders might be either way around: perhaps the drugs cause the disorders, or perhaps people use drugs to self medicate
Self Medication
Self Medication is an album by the New York City ska band The Slackers. It was released on Indication Records in 2008 .-Track listing:# "Every Day Is Sunday" – 2:35# "Don't You Want a Man" – 3:30...
for preexisting conditions.
Gateway drug theory may argue that marijuana usage leads to usage of harder drugs, but hard drug usage may lead to marijuana usage (see also confusion of the inverse
Confusion of the inverse
Confusion of the inverse, also called the conditional probability fallacy, is a logical fallacy whereupon a conditional probability is equivocated with its inverse: That is, given two events A and B, the probability Pr is assumed to be approximately equal to Pr.-Example 1:In one study, physicians...
). Indeed in the social sciences where controlled experiments often cannot be used to discern the direction of causation, this fallacy can fuel long-standing scientific arguments. One such example can be found in education economics
Education economics
Education economics or the economics of education is the study of economic issues relating to education, including the demand for education and the financing and provision of education...
, between the screening
Screening (economics)
Screening in economics refers to a strategy of combating adverse selection, one of the potential decision-making complications in cases of asymmetric information...
/signaling
Signalling (economics)
In economics, more precisely in contract theory, signalling is the idea that one party credibly conveys some information about itself to another party...
and human capital
Human capital
Human capitalis the stock of competencies, knowledge and personality attributes embodied in the ability to perform labor so as to produce economic value. It is the attributes gained by a worker through education and experience...
models: it could either be that having innate ability enables one to complete an education, or that completing an education builds one's ability.
A historical example of this is that Europeans in the Middle Ages
Middle Ages
The Middle Ages is a periodization of European history from the 5th century to the 15th century. The Middle Ages follows the fall of the Western Roman Empire in 476 and precedes the Early Modern Era. It is the middle period of a three-period division of Western history: Classic, Medieval and Modern...
believed that lice
Louse
Lice is the common name for over 3,000 species of wingless insects of the order Phthiraptera; three of which are classified as human disease agents...
were beneficial to your health, since there would rarely be any lice on sick people. The reasoning was that the people got sick because the lice left. The real reason however is that lice are extremely sensitive to body temperature. A small increase of body temperature, such as in a fever
Fever
Fever is a common medical sign characterized by an elevation of temperature above the normal range of due to an increase in the body temperature regulatory set-point. This increase in set-point triggers increased muscle tone and shivering.As a person's temperature increases, there is, in...
, will make the lice look for another host. The medical thermometer
Thermometer
Developed during the 16th and 17th centuries, a thermometer is a device that measures temperature or temperature gradient using a variety of different principles. A thermometer has two important elements: the temperature sensor Developed during the 16th and 17th centuries, a thermometer (from the...
had not yet been invented, so this increase in temperature was rarely noticed. Noticeable symptoms came later, giving the impression that the lice left before the person got sick.
In other cases, two phenomena can each be a partial cause of the other; consider poverty and lack of education, or procrastination and poor self-esteem. One making an argument based on these two phenomena must however be careful to avoid the fallacy of circular cause and consequence. Poverty is a cause of lack of education, but it is not the sole cause, and vice versa.