What is causation?
Causation means one thing actually produces another.
LSAT arguments constantly claim causation from weaker evidence: a correlation, a sequence of events, or a single study.
The standard attacks are alternative explanations, reverse causation (the effect caused the supposed cause), and showing the effect would have happened anyway.
When you see "therefore X causes Y," your first question should be "what else could cause Y?"
Related glossary entry: correlation vs. causation.
Last updated October 12, 2026