Historical fallacy
Encyclopedia
The Historical fallacy, also called the psychological fallacy, is a logical fallacy originally described by philosopher John Dewey
in 1896. The historical fallacy occurs when "a set of considerations which hold good only because a completed process is read into the content of the process which conditions this completed result." More simply stated, one commits the historical fallacy when one reads into a process the results that occur because of that process.
and metalogic
. For instance many analytic philosophers apply logic to metaphysical
questions without inquiring into the metaphysical processes underlying logic. Thus many process theorists
might contend that much of analytic philosophy is undermined by the historical fallacy.
John Dewey
John Dewey was an American philosopher, psychologist and educational reformer whose ideas have been influential in education and social reform. Dewey was an important early developer of the philosophy of pragmatism and one of the founders of functional psychology...
in 1896. The historical fallacy occurs when "a set of considerations which hold good only because a completed process is read into the content of the process which conditions this completed result." More simply stated, one commits the historical fallacy when one reads into a process the results that occur because of that process.
Example
A person coming across a loaf of bread without knowing the process by which bread is made, might begin to try to understand how to make bread by analyzing only its ingredients. Finding that bread contains a large amount of gas, one might conclude that gas is an ingredient used in making bread. However, a baker does not add gas into bread. Rather yeast creates a chemical process that causes the bread to rise with bubbles of carbon dioxide gas. The fallacy is in not recognizing that the gas is a result of the process of making bread and not a preexisting ingredient used to make it. Completed results supervene upon processes that are not necessarily reducible to the parts of that process.Applications
The historical fallacy has implication in analytic philosophyAnalytic philosophy
Analytic philosophy is a generic term for a style of philosophy that came to dominate English-speaking countries in the 20th century...
and metalogic
Metalogic
Metalogic is the study of the metatheory of logic. While logic is the study of the manner in which logical systems can be used to decide the correctness of arguments, metalogic studies the properties of the logical systems themselves...
. For instance many analytic philosophers apply logic to metaphysical
Metaphysics
Metaphysics is a branch of philosophy concerned with explaining the fundamental nature of being and the world, although the term is not easily defined. Traditionally, metaphysics attempts to answer two basic questions in the broadest possible terms:...
questions without inquiring into the metaphysical processes underlying logic. Thus many process theorists
Process theory
Process theory is a commonly used form of scientific research study in which events or occurrences are said to be the result of certain input states leading to a certain outcome state, following a set process....
might contend that much of analytic philosophy is undermined by the historical fallacy.