Retrospective Determinism: Difference between revisions

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Retrospective determinism

Assuming that because something happened it was inevitable; often, the follow-on is a Hasty Generalisation that it will inevitably happen again in the same situation, leading to tropes like Hitler's Time Travel Exemption Act and Planet of Hats.

Alice: Hey Bob, how's the knee?
Bob: After I went out for a walk, I was bound to trip and break my knee.

Bob gives no real reason as to why this was the only possible result, or even why it was the most likely; it differs from False Cause in that he did break his knee as a result of going out for a walk. He might follow on by cautioning Alice to avoid going outside, lest she suffer the same fate. Often happens during arguments over Alternate History, as someone attempts to argue for the historical result being inevitable.

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-{{trope}}
+{{Useful Notes}}
 == [[wikipedia:Retrospective determinism|Retrospective determinism]] ==
-:: Assuming that because something happened it was inevitable; often, the follow-on is a Hasty Generalisation that it will inevitably happen ''again'' in the same situation, leading to tropes like [[Hitler's Time Travel Exemption Act]] and [[Planet of Hats]].
+Assuming that because something happened it was inevitable; often, the follow-on is a Hasty Generalisation that it will inevitably happen ''again'' in the same situation, leading to tropes like [[Hitler's Time Travel Exemption Act]] and [[Planet of Hats]].
 {{quote|Alice: Hey Bob, how's the knee?
 Bob: After I went out for a walk, I was bound to trip and break my knee. }}
-::Bob gives no real reason as to why this was the only possible result, or even why it was the most likely; it differs from False Cause in that he ''did'' break his knee as a result of going out for a walk. He might follow on by cautioning Alice to avoid going outside, lest she suffer the same fate. Often happens during arguments over [[Alternate History]], as someone attempts to argue for the historical result being inevitable.
+Bob gives no real reason as to why this was the only possible result, or even why it was the most likely; it differs from False Cause in that he ''did'' break his knee as a result of going out for a walk. He might follow on by cautioning Alice to avoid going outside, lest she suffer the same fate. Often happens during arguments over [[Alternate History]], as someone attempts to argue for the historical result being inevitable.
 {{reflist}}