Meaning of post hoc fallacy – UGC NET Question

The post hoc fallacy is summarised by the phrase “after this, therefore because of this”. It mistakenly infers a causal relation merely from temporal succession. Just because one event comes after another does not mean the first caused the second. Hence the fallacy described in the stem is correctly called post hoc.

Option A:
Option A, straw man, involves misrepresenting an opponent’s position to make it easier to attack. It does not concern temporal order or causal assumptions. Therefore straw man is not the fallacy being described.

Option B:
Option B, ad hominem, attacks the character of a person instead of addressing the argument. This is a different kind of informal fallacy unrelated to event sequence. Thus ad hominem is not appropriate here.

Option C:
Option C correctly names the post hoc fallacy, which draws a causal conclusion solely from the fact that one event follows another. It warns against confusing correlation with causation. Therefore post hoc is the best answer.

Option D:
Option D, false analogy, bases a conclusion on an inappropriate or weak comparison between cases. While it is an informal fallacy, it does not rely on temporal succession. Hence false analogy cannot be the correct choice.