Wishful thinking

Informal fallacies → Other informal

Wishful thinking is when you believe something is true because you really want it to be true—not because you have good evidence. Wanting doesn't make it so. We're prone to believe what comforts us or fits our hopes. The fallacy is to let desire substitute for evidence. The remedy is to ask: what's the evidence, independent of what I want to be true?

Examples

  • I know I'll get the part because I want it so much.

  • The deal will go through—we need it to.

  • She'll say yes—she has to.

  • The test will be easy—I can't afford to fail.

  • The project will come in on budget—we've staked everything on it.

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