Circular reasoning - Wikipedia Circular reasoning From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia Jump to navigation Jump to search Logical fallacy in which the reasoner begins the premise with what they are trying to conclude with Part of a series on Pyrrhonism Precursors Heraclitus Democritus Buddha Anaxarchus Xenophanes Philosophy Acatalepsy Adiaphora Aporia Ataraxia Astathmēta Impermanence Dependent origination Dogma Epoché Agrippa's trilemma Phantasiai Problem of induction Problem of the criterion Reductio ad absurdum Regress argument Relativism Circular reasoning Dissent Ten Modes of Aenesidemus Five Modes of Agrippa Pyrrhonists Pyrrho Aenesidemus Agrippa the Skeptic Arcesilaus Michel de Montaigne Sextus Empiricus Timon of Phlius Similar philosophies Academic Skepticism Madhyamaka Buddhism Empiric school Cyrenaicism Cynicism Contrary philosophies Stoicism Aristotelianism Epicureanism  Philosophy portal v t e Circular reasoning (Latin: circulus in probando, "circle in proving";[1] also known as circular logic) is a logical fallacy in which the reasoner begins with what they are trying to end with.[2] The components of a circular argument are often logically valid because if the premises are true, the conclusion must be true. Circular reasoning is not a formal logical fallacy but a pragmatic defect in an argument whereby the premises are just as much in need of proof or evidence as the conclusion, and as a consequence the argument fails to persuade. Other ways to express this are that there is no reason to accept the premises unless one already believes the conclusion, or that the premises provide no independent ground or evidence for the conclusion.[3] Begging the question is closely related to circular reasoning, and in modern usage the two generally refer to the same thing.[4] Circular reasoning is often of the form: "A is true because B is true; B is true because A is true." Circularity can be difficult to detect if it involves a longer chain of propositions. Contents 1 History 2 The problem of induction 3 See also 4 References 5 External links History[edit] an example of circular reasoning. The problem of circular reasoning has been noted in Western philosophy at least as far back as the Pyrrhonist philosopher Agrippa who includes the problem of circular reasoning among his Five Tropes of Agrippa. The Pyrrhonist philosopher Sextus Empiricus described the problem of circular reasoning as "the reciprocal trope": The reciprocal trope occurs when what ought to be confirmatory of the object under investigation needs to be made convincing by the object under investigation; then, being unable to take either in order to establish the other, we suspend judgement about both.[5] The problem of induction[edit] Joel Feinberg and Russ Shafer-Landau note that "using the scientific method to judge the scientific method is circular reasoning". Scientists attempt to discover the laws of nature and to predict what will happen in the future, based on those laws. However, per David Hume's problem of induction, science cannot be proven inductively by empirical evidence, and thus science cannot be proven scientifically. An appeal to a principle of the uniformity of nature would be required to deductively necessitate the continued accuracy of predictions based on laws that have only succeeded in generalizing past observations. But as Bertrand Russell observed, "The method of 'postulating' what we want has many advantages; they are the same as the advantages of theft over honest toil".[6] See also[edit] Philosophy portal Affirming the consequent Argument from authority Catch-22 (logic) Circular definition Circular reference Circular reporting Coherentism Formal fallacy I'm entitled to my opinion List of cognitive biases Paradox Polysyllogism Problems with economic models Self-reference Tautology (rhetoric) References[edit] ^ Chisholm, Hugh, ed. (1911). "Circulus in Probando" . Encyclopædia Britannica. 6 (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press. p. 389. ^ Dowden, Bradley (27 March 2003). "Fallacies". Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy. Archived from the original on 9 October 2014. Retrieved April 5, 2012. ^ Nolt, John Eric; Rohatyn, Dennis; Varzi, Achille (1998). Schaum's outline of theory and problems of logic. McGraw-Hill Professional. p. 205. ISBN 9780070466494. ^ Walton, Douglas (2008). Informal Logic: A Pragmatic Approach. Cambridge University Press. ISBN 9780521886178. ^ Sextus Empiricus, Pyrrhōneioi hypotypōseis i., from Annas, J., Outlines of Scepticism Cambridge University Press. (2000). ^ Feinberg, Joel; Shafer-Landau, Russ (2008). Reason and responsibility: readings in some basic problems of philosophy. Cengage Learning. pp. 257–58. ISBN 9780495094920. External links[edit] Wikiquote has quotations related to: Circular reasoning v t e Fallacies (list) Formal In propositional logic Affirming a disjunct Affirming the consequent Denying the antecedent Argument from fallacy In quantificational logic Existential Illicit conversion Proof by example Quantifier shift Syllogistic fallacy Affirmative conclusion from a negative premise Exclusive premises Existential Necessity Four terms Illicit major Illicit minor Negative conclusion from affirmative premises Undistributed middle Masked man Mathematical fallacy Informal Equivocation Equivocation False equivalence False attribution Quoting out of context Loki's Wager No true Scotsman Reification Question-begging fallacies Circular reasoning / Begging the question Loaded language Leading question Compound question / Loaded question / Complex question No true Scotsman Correlative-based fallacies False dilemma Perfect solution Denying the correlative Suppressed correlative Illicit transference Composition Division Ecological Secundum quid Accident Converse accident Faulty generalization Anecdotal evidence Sampling bias Cherry picking McNamara Base rate / Conjunction Double counting False analogy Slothful induction Overwhelming exception Vagueness / ambiguity Accent False precision Moving the goalposts Quoting out of context Slippery slope Sorites paradox Syntactic ambiguity Questionable cause Animistic Furtive Correlation implies causation Cum hoc Post hoc Gambler's Inverse Regression Single cause Slippery slope Texas sharpshooter Fallacies of relevance Appeals to emotion Fear Flattery Novelty Pity Ridicule Think of the children In-group favoritism Invented here / Not invented here Island mentality Loyalty Parade of horribles Spite Stirring symbols Wisdom of repugnance Genetic fallacies Ad hominem Appeal to motive Association Reductio ad Hitlerum Godwin's law Reductio ad Stalinum Bulverism Poisoning the well Tone Tu quoque Whataboutism Authority Accomplishment Ipse dixit Poverty / Wealth Etymology Nature Tradition / Novelty Chronological snobbery Appeals to consequences Argumentum ad baculum Wishful thinking Ad nauseam Sealioning Argument to moderation Argumentum ad populum Appeal to the stone / Proof by assertion Ignoratio elenchi Argument from silence Invincible ignorance Moralistic / Naturalistic Motte-and-bailey fallacy Rationalization Red herring Two wrongs make a right Special pleading Straw man Cliché I'm entitled to my opinion Category Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Circular_reasoning&oldid=998740760" Categories: Philosophical logic Formal fallacies Pyrrhonism Hidden categories: Wikipedia articles incorporating a citation from the 1911 Encyclopaedia Britannica with Wikisource reference Articles with short description Short description matches Wikidata Articles containing Latin-language text Navigation menu Personal tools Not logged in Talk Contributions Create account Log in Namespaces Article Talk Variants Views Read Edit View history More Search Navigation Main page Contents Current events Random article About Wikipedia Contact us Donate Contribute Help Learn to edit Community portal Recent changes Upload file Tools What links here Related changes Upload file Special pages Permanent link Page information Cite this page Wikidata item Print/export Download as PDF Printable version In other projects Wikiquote Languages Afrikaans العربية Български Català Dansk Deutsch Ελληνικά Español Français 한국어 Italiano עברית Nederlands 日本語 Polski Русский Slovenčina Српски / srpski Suomi Tagalog Türkçe Українська 粵語 Zazaki 中文 Edit links This page was last edited on 6 January 2021, at 20:43 (UTC). 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