Circular Reasoning
Also called Circulus in demonstrando -- Begging the Question used recursively. A is true because B is true. B is true because C is true. C is true because D is true. D is true because A is true. The proof simply circles around and around, with nothing in it that it isn't being proved by itself.
Not to be confused with the Harry Potter fanfiction of the same name by "Swimdraconian".
Literature
- The Catch-22 of the novel of the same name is Circular Reasoning. The dialogue that explains it:
Yossarian: Is Orr crazy?
Dr. 'Doc' Daneeka: Of course he is. He has to be crazy to keep flying after all the close calls he's had.
Yossarian: Why can't you ground him?
Doc Daneeka: I can, but first he has to ask me.
Yossarian: That's all he's gotta do to be grounded?
Doc Daneeka: That's all.
Yossarian: Then you can ground him?
Doc Daneeka: No. Then I cannot ground him.
Yossarian: Aah!
Doc Daneeka: There's a CATCH!
Yossarian: A catch?
Doc Daneeka: Sure. Catch-22. Anyone who wants to get out of combat isn't really crazy, so I can't ground him.
Yossarian: Okay, let me see if I've got this straight. In order to be grounded, I've got to be crazy. And I must be crazy to keep flying. But if I ask to be grounded, that means I'm not crazy anymore, and I have to keep flying.
Doc Daneeka: You got it, that's Catch-22.
- The drunk in The Little Prince drinks. When asked why, he explains that he wants to forget. When asked what he wants to forget, he says that he wants to forget that he is ashamed. When asked about that, he explains that he is ashamed of drinking.
- In Wings (about a certain almost insignificant subset of living things of Florida):
But they're the ones who matter. At least, in their opinion. And their opinion is the one that matters. In their opinion.
- Rudyard Kipling nodded at it in a darkly humorous way in "The Sleepy Sentinel" (Epitaphs of the War):
I sleep because I am slain. They slew me because I slept.
Live Action TV
- A sketch on That Mitchell and Webb Look had a group of government agents justify covering up the Roswell incident in this way. They could release all the information now in order to gather support and build defences against a possible invasion, but people will be angry with the government when they learn that aliens exist, especially if there is an invasion and it turns out that the government knew about them for decades but did nothing to help gather support and build defences.
Religion and Mythology
- This fallacy is often used by fundamentalists as "proof" that the The Bible is correct and error free:
Believer: "The Bible is literally true because it is the inerrant word of God."
Skeptic: "How do you know the Bible is the inerrant word of God?"
Believer: "It says so in the Bible. 2 Timothy 3:16, specifically."
Video Games
- At the end of Mass Effect 3 The Catalyst uses circular logic to justify creating the Reapers. It states that synthetics will always destroy their organic creators, so it creates the Reapers, who are synthetics, to wipe out organics every 50,000 years so they won't be destroyed by their own synthetics. You don't even have the option to call him on this.
Web Comics
- In The Order of the Stick: Though she ultimately turns out to be right, Elan points out that Haley is using circular logic against Tarquin: She won't tell him that lives are at stake concerning the information she wants because she doesn't trust him, and she doesn't trust him because he's withholding information when lives are at stake. Haley is not pleased at having been out-logicked by The Ditz.
Durkon: Don't ye think ye've had enough?
Haley: Depends. Am I drunk enough that, in the morning, I won't remember being out-logicked by Elan?
Durkon: Och, no. Ye'll need at least another two pints for that.
Elan: I'll go order another round.
- In The Non-Adventures of Wonderella: Wonderella and Dr. Shark use this when confronting an high school student about the dangers of Marijuana
Wonderella: Marijuana is illegal, young man.
Student: But, why?
Wonderella: Because it leads to harder drugs [...]
Student: Who says I have to try harder drugs?
Wonderella: Your dealer. [...]
Student: But why do I need to go to a dealer?
Dr. Shark: Because, young man, Marijuana is illegal.
Student: Hmm, I guess it makes sense when you put it like that.
- When Trawn of Electric Wonderland takes a shortcut to her Home Base through 4chan's domain, she learns from passers-by that everyone there keeps repeating certain Catch Phrases because they're humorous, those Catch Phrases are humorous because everyone there keeps repeating them, and everyone there keeps repeating them because they're humorous.
Trawn: Ugh, the logic here drives me crazy on normal days!
- Used as an insult in Girl Genius here.
- Eight Bit Theater had a good one with Black Mage and fairy wings (oh, and they didn't actually need this at all - check the previous page).
- Gunnerkrigg Court had Antimony use her bewildering powers of deception and trickery on the Doorbot by explaining that she clearly is a robot because she has (plastic) antennae and because she says that she's a robot - and robots never lie.
- Vexxarr is becoming uncomfortably good at this. He also openly used it on another Bleen captain, as an existential argument.
- Lore Brand Comics on Hidden Camera (see wikipedia entry below for context).
- Offshorecomic has Economist as "IQ Scientist" in #360.
Web Original
- On the Zero Punctuation review of World of Warcraft: Cataclysm, Yahtzee asked another player why he raids. The raider's reason is that it gets stuff. Why does he want stuff? To raid with.
- Whenever someone is harassed via article on wikipedia, that page is not taken down because this very incident supposedly makes the subject "notable" enough to keep it.
- Brad Wardell (Stardock’s CEO) describes the choir preaching to itself after Kotaku team ran a smear campaign against him:
Seriously, this is an endless loop:
10: Why are you sympathetic towards #gamergate?
20: Because I’ve seen how biased, politically driven game “news” can hurt people. Like Kotaku Article.
30: Well you are scum. I can prove you’re scum. I read the Kotaku article.
40: Goto 10.
- Lewis' Law: "The comments on any article about feminism justify feminism."
Western Animation
- During one Beavis and Butthead music video segment, Beavis asks why a certain person in the video is on TV. Butt-head says he's on TV because he's famous. What's he famous for? He's famous for being on TV. This goes back and forth for awhile, with Butt-head getting increasingly irritated that Beavis doesn't get it.
Real Life
- The British used a similar line of reasoning against employing homosexuals in the Secret Service (when it was illegal); it was
Homosexuals cannot be employed in the Secret Service because they are a security risk.
Therefore, any homosexual employed by the Secret Service would lose his job if he were found out.
Therefore, any homosexual employed by the Secret Service would do anything to avoid being found out.
Therefore, homosexual employees of the Secret Service are more open to blackmail than non-homosexual employees.
Therefore, homosexuals present a security risk and should not be employed in the Secret Service.
- Oddly enough, it was also thought to be a reason why they would make good agents; hiding one's activities, meeting covertly and maintaining a respectable front to avoid suspicion are the kind of skills the Service found useful.
- According to Isaac Asimov, this was used in the Middle Ages as an excuse not to educate women; all intelligent people know Latin, but women don't know Latin so they must be stupid, which means that there's no point in teaching them Latin (or anything else). This is also the fallacy of confusing knowledge with intelligence, which also underpins large parts of so-called "intelligence tests".
- A monarchy is a nation ruled by a monarch; a monarch someone who rules a monarchy. What with Hereditary Republics, Elective Monarchies, and Presidents-For-Life, that's about the clearest definitions there are, and political scientists often admit that sometimes the only difference between a monarchy and a republic are the titles involved.
- Practically, it's often the same:
L. Gumilev: The Romans didn't notice the Republic was replaced with the Empire for three hundred years, and only when Diocletian changed the court etiquette found out they have a monarchy.
- The supposedly non-religious (or even better, "rational") movements descended from Puritanism usually inherit most doctrines of their parents, including Predestination. Then they try to replace the original underlying theology with quick patches, which tend to result in something like this:
there is a clip of Ingrid Newkirk in which she makes the following proposition: animal rights is a social-justice movement. All social-justice movements in the past have been successful. Therefore, the animal-rights movement will inevitably succeed.
This is pure Whig history. It postulates a mysterious force that animates the course of history, and operates inevitably in the progressive direction. Note the circular reasoning: social justice succeeds because social justice is good. How do we know that social justice is good? Because it succeeds, and good tends to triumph over evil. How do we know that good tends to triumph over evil? Well, just look at the record of social-justice movements.
- ↑ On the criticisms that Rainbow Dash represented the "lesbian tomboy" stereotype.