§   DEFINITION

Non sequitur – a conclusion that has no apparent connection to the premises or reasons.
 

This Latin phrase means “it does not follow” and refers to a conclusion that has no apparent connection to the reasons.  Non sequiturs occur when writers omit a step in an otherwise logical chain of sequential reasoning, assuming that readers agree with the highly contestable claims of others.  Two events may occur sequentially, but one may not necessarily be the cause of the other.  This fallacy is part of the false cause fallacy, except that this fallacy occurs specifically due to the sequence of two unrelated events.
 

EXAMPLE 1

A child might say to his parent: “You don’t love me or you’d buy me that bicycle!”

Children are especially prone to this type of fallacy.  No clear-thinking person could accept such sloppy logic, yet it suckers many parents into guilty shopping sprees to convey their love through material means.  The script does not read: love comes first, then the presents.  Buying a bicycle has little to do with the real concept of love.
 

FOR  YOUR  INFORMATION 

Non sequiturs are often found in advertising campaigns.  Any car or beer commercial that associated its products with scantily clad women was implying that men should buy these products because they can somehow impress their friends or become closer to the beautiful women pictured in the ad.  The warrant for the beer ad reads: “Buy this brand of beer because there is a beautiful woman holding it.”

Studies show that this type of ad works wonders when targeted to men.  Do men accept the logic, or does brand recognition become associated with bikinis?  These commercials work on an emotional level ... but they flounder logically: it is not possible to identify an assumption that could link this reason and this conclusion in a sensible way.
 

EXAMPLE 2

A sportscaster: “Johnson has missed his last five free throws.  He’s normally an 80% shooter, so he’s got to make this one!”

The law of averages suggests that a deviation from an established frequency will ultimately balance out.  We all go into hot and cold streaks that affect our performance in many areas of life.  However, the cause of this next free throw is not the previous miss … or the four misses before that.  It is dependent entirely upon the player’s performance.  Psychologically, the thought of missing five shots in a row could either sharpen or distract his concentration, depending on the individual.  No guarantees.