Animistic fallacy

Fallacy that intent acts to cause events

The animistic fallacy is the informal fallacy of arguing that an event or situation necessarily arose because someone intentionally acted to cause it.^[1] While it could be that someone set out to effect a specific goal, the fallacy appears in an argument that states this must be the case.^[1] The name of the fallacy comes from the animistic belief that changes in the physical world are the work of conscious spirits.^{[citation needed]}

Examples

Thomas Sowell in his book Knowledge and Decisions (1980) presents several arguments as examples of the animistic fallacy:^[1]

that people earn wealth always because of superior choices
that central planning is necessary to prevent chaos in society

Sowell repeatedly dismisses the necessity that order comes from design, and notes that fallacious animistic arguments tend to provide explanations that require comparatively little time to implement. In this light he contrasts the six-day creation of the world described in the Bible to the development of life over billions of years described by evolution.

References

^ ^a ^b ^c Sowell, Thomas (1996). Knowledge and decisions (3rd ed.). Basic Books. pp. 97–100. ISBN 978-0-465-03738-4.

Common fallacies (list)

Formal

In propositional logic	Affirming a disjunct Affirming the consequent Denying the antecedent Argument from fallacy Masked man Mathematical fallacy
In quantificational logic	Existential Illicit conversion Proof by example Quantifier shift
Syllogistic fallacy	Affirmative conclusion from a negative premise Negative conclusion from affirmative premises Exclusive premises Existential Necessity Four terms Illicit major Illicit minor Undistributed middle

Informal

Equivocation

Question-begging

Correlative-based

Illicit transference

Secundum quid

Accident
Converse accident

Faulty generalization

Anecdotal evidence
Sampling bias
- Cherry picking
- McNamara
Base rate / Conjunction
Double counting
False analogy
Slothful induction
Overwhelming exception

Ambiguity

Questionable cause

Animistic
- Furtive
Correlation implies causation
- Cum hoc
- Post hoc
Gambler's
- Inverse
Regression
Single cause
Slippery slope
Texas sharpshooter

Appeals

Consequences	Argumentum ad baculum Wishful thinking
Emotion	Children Fear Flattery Novelty Pity Ridicule In-group favoritism Invented here / Not invented here Island mentality Loyalty Parade of horribles Spite Stirring symbols Wisdom of repugnance

Genetic fallacy

Ad hominem	Appeal to motive Association Reductio ad Hitlerum Godwin's law Reductio ad Stalinum Bulverism Poisoning the well Tone Tu quoque Whataboutism
Authority Accomplishment Ipse dixit Poverty / Wealth Etymology Nature Tradition / Novelty Chronological snobbery

Other fallacies
of relevance

Arguments	Ad nauseam Sealioning Argument from anecdote Argument from silence Argument to moderation Argumentum ad populum
Cliché The Four Great Errors I'm entitled to my opinion Ignoratio elenchi Invincible ignorance Moralistic / Naturalistic Motte-and-bailey fallacy Psychologist's fallacy Rationalization Red herring Two wrongs make a right Special pleading Straw man