Circular Reasoning

Joshua Meador, Rilee Mathews, and Rebekah Thompson

Definition

Circular reasoning is an attempt to support a statement by simply repeating the statement in different or stronger terms

Universal Example

Mr. A. "Do you believe in God?"

Mr. B. "Yes." Mr. A. "Why do you believe in

God?" Mr. B. “Because it is written in

the Bible.” Mr. A. "Why do you believe the

Bible?" Mr. B. "Because the Bible is

the word of God."

Mr. B believes in God because he believes what is written in the Bible. He believes the Bible because it was written by God.

This is circular reasoning because he believes in God because God wrote the Bible. He is just restating what he said earlier.

Circular Reasoning Cartoon

This cartoon demonstrates circular reasoning because it is showing that the reason to believe in The Bible is The Bible.

Circular Reasoning in The Crucible

Act II, pg. 200

Hale: But, woman, you do believe there are witches in-

Elizabeth: If you think that I am one, then I say there are none.

Elizabeth is saying that since they think she is a witch when she knows that she isn’t, there aren’t any witches in Salem.

Act III, pg. 207

Martha Corey’s Voice: I am innocent to a witch. I know not what a witch is.

Hathorne’s Voice: How do you know, then, you are not a witch?

Martha Corey’s Voice: If I were, I would know it.

Martha Corey is saying that she isn’t a witch because she doesn’t know what a witch is. And she also says if she were a witch, she would know. But if she didn’t know what a witch was, she wouldn’t know if she was a witch.

Works Cited

Guru. “Logical fallacies of the bible.” 17 Nov. 2011. Naruto Forums. 15 Feb. 2012.

http://www.narutoforums.com/showthread.php?t=777975

“Circular Reasoning.” ksuweb.kennesaw.edu. KSU. 27 Nov. 2002. Web. 15 Feb. 2012.

"What Is Circular Reasoning Give Example." The Q&A Wiki. Web. 16 Feb. 2012.