The nominal fallacy, also known as the naming-explaining fallacy, is a logical fallacy in which it is incorrectly assumed that giving something a name is tantamount to explaining it.[1] Stuart Firestein has described the fallacy as "...the error of believing that the label carries explanatory information."[2] One example of the nominal fallacy is the use of the word "instinct" to explain a given behavior.[2] An assertion, statement or assumption that an entity X exhibits a certain property due to its name would exemplify the nominal fallacy.