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Topic: Circular reasoning

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	PlanetMath: circular reasoning
		This is version 10 of circular reasoning, born on 2006-07-25, modified 2006-08-20.
		For example, the entry ``circular reasoning'' by Wkbj79 expresses a logic tautology because we are using in the reasoning the self-evident $g*g^{-1}=e_G$.
		I thought it would be a good idea to put an example of circular reasoning in the article; however, I would greatly appreciate it if people have ``simpler'' examples.
	planetmath.org /encyclopedia/CircularReasoning.html (283 words)

	FOSSILS AND ROCKS: CIRCULAR REASONING (Site not responding. Last check: 2007-11-05)
		"Circular reasoning" is a method of false logic, by which "this is used to prove that, and that is used to prove this." It is also called "reasoning in a circle." Over a hundred years ago it was described by the phrase, circulus in probando, which is Latin for "a circle in a proof."
		There are several types of circular reasoning found in support of evolutionary theory.
		For most biologists, the strongest reason for accepting the evolutionary hypothesis is their acceptance of some theory that entails it.
	www.pathlights.com /ce_encyclopedia/12fos11.htm (1386 words)

	Circular Logic - Uncyclopedia, the content-free encyclopedia
		Circular Logic is the most common form of logic on the planet Earth, as well as on all the other planets including Venus, Mars, and Jupiter, but not Pluto because it's a dwarf planet.
		If multiple circular logics are stacked on top of each other, then you could defend a city by confusing your enemies by making their heads implode.
		Circular logic can be used as a weapon in war, mostly in the stage of getting it approved by congress.
	uncyclopedia.org /wiki/Circular_Logic (499 words)

	Begging the question - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
		In logic, begging the question is the term for a type of fallacy occurring in deductive reasoning in which the proposition to be proved is assumed implicitly or explicitly in one of the premises.
		Begging the question is also known as petitio principii, and is related to the fallacy known as circular argument, circulus in probando, vicious circle or circular reasoning.
		The distinction between the two concepts is as follows: Circular Reasoning is the basing of two conclusions each upon the other (or possibly with more intermediate steps).
	en.wikipedia.org /wiki/Begging_the_question (1190 words)

	CIRCULAR REASONING, ITS OWN PROOF (Site not responding. Last check: 2007-11-05)
		Circular reasoning (also called "reasoning in a circle") is the basis of two evolutionary concepts: "natural selection" and "survival of the fittest." Evolutionary theory is a myth.
		T.H. Morgan, famous American geneticist, said that the idea of natural selection is a tautology, a case of circular reasoning.
		But thismeans that a species survives because it is the fittest and is the fittest be cause it survives, which is circular reasoning and equivalent to saying that whatever is, is fit.
	www.pathlights.com /ce_encyclopedia/09nsel06.htm (1051 words)

	THE HEURISTICS OF LEGAL REASONING (Site not responding. Last check: 2007-11-05)
		David Hume argues, supposedly, that one not ought to reason from factual “is” statements to normative “ought” statements.
		We normally presume that valid reasoning must proceed from facts and develop the valid implications of those facts to certain conclusions which, though they appear new were in fact already present in the known or presumed facts.
		The truly problematic category of circularity in patterns of inference is the form of reasoning which is generally construed as faulty but which in fact is valid.
	lexnet.bravepages.com /Circle.htm (3135 words)

	[No title] (Site not responding. Last check: 2007-11-05)
		Circular reasoning, or begging the question, is a logical fallacy that is committed by having an argument, the conclusion of which is assumed as a premise.
		Circularity is a relationship between the conclusion of an argument and the premises, so without a conclusion it is impossible to tell.
		It is circular because the conclusion of the study is one of the fundamental assumptions of science.
	www.cc.gatech.edu /~jimmyd/philosophy/disciplines.txt (1852 words)

	Logic and Literary Argument
		Circular reasoning often sounds right, as it does to the bird, but it is invalid nonetheless.
		It is often hard to recognize reasoning as circular because the steps between the first and last may be many or because we may have the feeling that there are suppressed premises that are nonetheless pleasant and clinch the connections.
		William Faulkner consistently asserted that the reason his characters with the same names changed from book to book is that the characters lived in his head and, like people, they just changed during the time between writings.
	www-personal.umich.edu /~esrabkin/LogicLitArg.htm (2905 words)

	Mission: Critical (Circular Reasoning)
		In the case of the fallacy of circular reasoning, the difference is not be as obvious as you might expect.
		In the fallacy of circular reasoning, which is often called begging the question, you assume to be true what you are supposed to be proving.
		This difference is that, in circular reasoning, the conclusion is contained in a single premise or assumption, while in a deductive argument the conclusion is derived from both premises.
	www.sjsu.edu /depts/itl/graphics/adhom/circular.html (833 words)

	BBC - h2g2 - Circular Reasoning
		Circular reasoning is the practice of assuming something, in order to prove the very thing that you assumed.
		Circular reasoning is very useful because anything at all can be proved with it, including things that are obviously false.
		Circular reasoning can often be used by stealth to complete proofs that would otherwise be very difficult, or indeed impossible.
	www.bbc.co.uk /dna/hub/A688287 (487 words)

	Circular reasoning - what is it & is all knowledge circular? - Theology Forums.com (Site not responding. Last check: 2007-11-05)
		Perhaps reasonable people who claim that all knowledge is circular are confusing circular reasoning with the cul-de-sacs filled with unprovable assumptions that they inevitably find themselves bootstrapping to when they have a faulty premise.
		The reason for this circularity in spiritual reasoning is found in the finite nature of man. The very form of the circle is pregnant with symbolism, indicating a perfect boundary...we are hemmed in, we are finite and so is our present knowledge.
		The circularity is inescapable for exactly the same reason that dogmatic statements by the church are inescapable...our present finiteness.
	www.basictheology.com /forums/PrintPost.aspx?PostID=159697 (4560 words)

	Circular Reasoning
		Circular reasoning is an attempt to support a statement by simply repeating the statement in different or stronger terms.
		In this fallacy, the reason given is nothing more than a restatement of the conclusion that poses as the reason for the conclusion.
		Circular reasoning is problematic because the claim is made on grounds that cannot be accepted as true — because those very grounds are in dispute.
	ksuweb.kennesaw.edu /~shagin/logfal-pbc-circular.htm (506 words)

	ryan wentzel » Apologetics
		[t]he ‘circularity’ of a transcendental argument is not at all the same as the fallacious ‘circularity’ of an argument in which the conclusion is a restatement…of one of its premises.
		Circular arguments depend on basic presuppositions that are assumed at the outset of the argument.
		He writes, “We hold it to be true that circular reasoning is the only reasoning that is possible to finite man.”[6] When attempting to answer the question of God’s existence (or any other question, for that matter), everyone assumes certain things to be true before they even begin to reason.
	ryan.thewentzels.org /archives/category/apologetics (3963 words)

	sciforums.com - Them vicious circularities!
		I would suggest that when people are talking about circular reasoning or logic they are noramlly refereing to an abstraction of logic that appears circular but of course the person is growing as he sees this thus the circle he sees is realy a part of an overal spiral as growth continues for the idea.
		Circular reasoning is always infallible when the assumption is correct, but if the assumption is correct then its implications can be had via deduction.
		Circularities are a common fuel for eventuations, the action of purpose.
	www.sciforums.com /printthread.php?t=44359&pp=40 (7100 words)

	CGR: Circular reasoning (Site not responding. Last check: 2007-11-05)
		It is circular because some aspect of your argument is unsubstantiated, so therefore your argument tends to resort back to this claim.
		It is circular because, since the original claim is unfounded, all your other statements will inevitably lead back to this presupposition.
		One could reach a conclusion through circular reasoning, however then one would be a fool.
	www.christianguitar.org /forums/showthread.php?t=67178 (908 words)

	Begging the question -- Facts, Info, and Encyclopedia article (Site not responding. Last check: 2007-11-05)
		Begging the question is related to the fallacy known as circular argument, circulus in probando, vicious circle or circular reasoning.
		That is, when the deduction contains a proposition that assumes the very thing the argument aims to prove; in essence, the ((logic) a statement that affirms or denies something and is either true or false) proposition is used to prove itself, a tactic which in its simplest form is not very persuasive.
		If not, it is in fact a weaker argument than a mere assertion that the death penalty is wrong, since the first (A statement that is assumed to be true and from which a conclusion can be drawn) premise is stronger than the conclusion.
	www.absoluteastronomy.com /encyclopedia/b/be/begging_the_question.htm (1224 words)

	Circular Reasoning - Advertising (Site not responding. Last check: 2007-11-05)
		CIRCULAR REASONING, ITS OWN PROOF Circular reasoning (also called "reasoning in a circle") is the basis of two evolutionary concepts: "natural selection" and "survival of the fittest." Evolutionary...
		In the case of the fallacy of circular reasoning, the difference is not be as obvious as you might expect.
		Circular reasoning: The 'mystery' of crop circles and their 'orbs' of light :...
	www.coolasacuc.com /circular-reasoning.htm (334 words)

	Re: circular reasoning and closed worlds in probability models
		However, assuming A when ~A is known is a false premise, which is a different problem.] The problem with circular reasoning is that it does nothing other than restate the assumptions of the reasoner.
		A purely deductive argument is, in some sense, circular since the conclusion is within the deductive closure of the the reasoner's premises.
		I prefer to think of this as circular since the decision to add a parentless non-evidence node to a bayes net corresonding to the existence of an object is a purely ontological decision.
	www.mail-archive.com /uai@cs.orst.edu/msg00356.html (714 words)

	Truth = Paradox & Circular Reasoning
		If one sees fl as white, while the other sees white as fl and both agree that what they are seeing is the same, then there is no absolute way of determining differentially between the two, as both are in conformity within communicable definitions and absolute objectification.
		The power of reason is used to create form and arrangements, perceiving all in categorizations, which is needed for human survival.
		The moment such irrational foundational knowledge is accompanied with reason and subsequently communicated, all integrity, or depending on whether metaphorical, symbolic speech is used verses mathematical logistic analytical speech, most integrity is lost of the irrational truth, as the essentiality of being, of becoming, is noncommunicable.
	www.escapefromwatchtower.com /truthequalsparadox.html (2413 words)

	Proving Sinai: Circular Reasoning
		Thanks for your time, ES Mesora: Let us define “circular reasoning”: a person claiming his diploma to be authentic, and affords but one proof: his diploma.
		This is why Sinai is not circular reasoning, and its very existence is its proof.
		We learn that “circular reasoning”, like all other concepts, must be defined, and when it is, all errors are removed.
	www.mesora.org /provingsinai.htm (745 words)

	LEO: Logic
		When you attempt to employ logic to support claims in your papers, your reasoning is sometimes weakened because you are presenting fallacious arguments.
		Questionable Premises: The writer's reasons for holding a belief are not as obvious to the audience as they are to the writer, and the writer does not back up the claim with enough support.
		Circular Reasoning: The writer defends the claim by using the conclusion as one of the premises to support the conclusion.
	leo.stcloudstate.edu /acadwrite/logic.html (1986 words)

	[No title]
		Circular reasoning, also called circular logic, occurs when the premise of a syllogism is contained in the conclusion:
		Understand the distinction between reasoning that is presuppositional and the justification upon which this reasoning is founded.
		The reasoning is circular, the justification is linear.
	www.xanga.com /razzendahcuben/525226930/item.html (3404 words)

	Erroneous methods of inference yielding convincing falsehoods
		Now the statement that "nudism is sinful" would have been quite acceptable as the conclusion of a reasoned scriptural argument, and, if derived from such an argument, could then properly have been used as the basis for proposed action.
		However, the authors of these web pages erred by omitting the reasoned argument and instead attempting to win their point simply by using emotional language which implies that anyone who disagrees with them must be a person of unsound or unchristian morals.
		Reasoned arguments may only validly be answered with reasoned arguments, not with arguments which ignore reason and appeal to the reader's shame.
	www.angelfire.com /ks2/fallacies/fallinf.htm (3240 words)

	Mission: Critical (Circular Reasoning)
		In the fallacy of circular reasoning, which is often called begging the question, you assume to be true what you are supposed to be proving.
		This difference is that, in circular reasoning, the conclusion is contained in a single premise or assumption, while in a deductive argument the conclusion is derived from both premises.
		Often, however, circular reasoning is more subtle than this: it depends on an assumption not stated but assumed.
	www2.sjsu.edu /depts/itl/graphics/adhom/circular.html (833 words)

	Show-Me the Argument » Holistic Coherentism and Circular Reasoning
		Thus, coherentism in all its varieties is saddled with having to endorse circular reasoning (a very bad thing to have to endorse!).
		The holistic coherentism denies this; arguing instead that reasons occur only given framework, where a framework is an irreducible plural entity, composed of a plurality of assertive contents (i.e., beliefs & experiences).
		My “reason of” talk describes the relation that figures in sentences of the form “p is a reason for q.” I adverted to the genitive to talk about the relation itself.
	web.missouri.edu /~umcasphilwww/show-me/?p=108 (2537 words)

	www.myspace.com/circularreasoning
		It is on this premise where Circular Reasoning places its intentions.
		It is the Circular Reasoning involved in experiencing and attempting to express the impact of those experiences that our band is named after.
		We (Circular Reasoning) are, merely, human beings whose focus it is to draw attention to the subtlties that make the layers of moments that, collectively, we call life...
	www.myspace.com /circularreasoning (997 words)

	Descartes' Meditations Home Page
		Indeed, if I afterward judged that we ought to doubt of these things, it was for no other reason than because it occurred to me that a God might perhaps have given me such a nature as that I should be deceived, even respecting the matters that appeared to me the most evidently true.
		And in truth, as I have no ground for believing that Deity is deceitful, and as, indeed, I have not even considered the reasons by which the existence of a Deity of any kind is established, the ground of doubt that rests only on this supposition is very slight, and, so to speak, metaphysical.
		These two ideas cannot certainly both resemble the same sun; and reason teaches me that the one which seems to have immediately emanated from it is the most unlike.
	www.wright.edu /cola/descartes/meditation3.html (1931 words)

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