The fallacy of Post Hoc Ergo Propter Hoc begins with the observation that two events occurred in sequence. As such, it appears to be good Retroductive reasoning, since such a temporal ordering is just the kind of concomitance that might suggest a causal connection.
The fallacy lies in a conclusion based solely on the order of events, rather than taking into account other factors potentially responsible for the result that might rule out the connection. A simple example is "the rooster crows immediately before sunrise; therefore the rooster causes the sun to rise."
: after this, therefore because of this : because an event occurred first, it must have caused this later event —used to describe a fallacious argument.
because of thisDefinition of propter hoc : because of this — compare post hoc.