Into the Night is a practitioner of this fallacy.
The
omniscience fallacy occurs when someone falsely assumes that a person—or group—has complete knowledge or awareness of all relevant facts, intentions, or consequences. It’s a logical error that attributes unrealistic levels of insight or foresight to others, often to dismiss their actions or arguments.
Common Forms of the Fallacy
- Assuming total awareness: “They knew exactly what would happen, so they must have done it on purpose.”
- Projecting universal knowledge: “Everyone knows that’s wrong, so they must be lying.”
- Judging decisions with hindsight: “They should have predicted the outcome perfectly.”
Why It’s Flawed
- Humans operate with limited information, context, and cognitive biases.
- Decision-making often involves uncertainty, especially in complex systems like politics, economics, or medicine.
- The fallacy ignores reasonable error, evolving knowledge, and the possibility of good-faith mistakes.
Example in Debate
- “The CDC changed its guidance, so they must have been lying before.”
- This assumes omniscience rather than acknowledging evolving science.