Affirming the Consequent (CT Scan, Episode 47)

Subtle, persuasive, and almost always illogical, Affirming the Consequent is a flawed “if-then” argument which argues that an “if” statement is true because a “then” statement is true. Like “If your car is out of gas, it won’t start. It won’t start; therefore, it’s out of gas.” Using real evolutionary examples, let’s see when Affirming the Consequent is (and isn’t) a fallacy.

CORRECTION to video: At the 3:42 mark, Patricia said, "affirming the consequent is only a fallacy if there are other ways for the *antecedent* to be true," but meant "affirming the consequent is only a fallacy if there are other ways for the *consequent* to be true,"

DIGGING DEEPER
• Origin of Life articles: https://answersingenesis.org/origin-of-life/
• Information theory articles: https://answersingenesis.org/genetics/information-theory/
• Dr. Jason Lisle (2009) “Formal Fallacies: Affirming the Consequent and Denying the Antecedent.” https://answersingenesis.org/logic/formal-fallacies/

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