The fallacy of the single cause, also known as complex cause, causal oversimplification
, causal reductionism, and reduction fallacy,
is an
informal fallacy
Informal fallacies are a type of incorrect argument in natural language. The source of the error is not just due to the ''form'' of the argument, as is the case for formal fallacies, but can also be due to their ''content'' and ''context''. Fall ...
of
questionable cause
The questionable cause—also known as causal fallacy, false cause, or ''non causa pro causa'' ("non-cause for cause" in Latin)—is a category of informal fallacies in which a cause is incorrectly identified.
For example: "Every time I go to sle ...
that occurs when it is assumed that there is a single, simple cause of an outcome when in reality it may have been caused by a number of only jointly
sufficient causes.
Fallacy of the single cause can be logically reduced to: " X caused Y; therefore, X was the only cause of Y" (although A,B,C...etc. also contributed to Y.)
Causal
oversimplification is a specific kind of
false dilemma
A false dilemma, also referred to as false dichotomy or false binary, is an informal fallacy based on a premise that erroneously limits what options are available. The source of the fallacy lies not in an invalid form of inference but in a false ...
where conjoint possibilities are ignored. In other words, the possible causes are assumed to be "A or B or C" when "A and B and C" or "A and B and not C" (etc.) are not taken into consideration; i.e. the "or" is not
exclusive.
See also
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References
{{Fallacies
Causal fallacies