Divine fallacy
The divine fallacy is an informal fallacy that involves arguing for a conclusion on the grounds that it is unimaginable for it not to be true.
The name "divine fallacy" is due to its frequent use to argue that something must have a supernatural origin. It is also known as an argument from incredulity, personal incredulity, or appeal to common sense. Arguments from incredulity can take the form:
- I cannot imagine how P could be true; therefore P must be false.
- I cannot imagine how P could be false; therefore P must be true.
Arguments from incredulity can sometimes arise from inappropriate emotional involvement, the conflation of fantasy and reality, a lack of understanding, or an instinctive 'gut' reaction, especially where time is scarce.
