Circular Reasoning Check
Updated 2026-09-11
INTRODUCTION
English translation pending.
CORE DEFINITION
Circular reasoning, also called begging the question, occurs when an argument uses its conclusion to support its premise and then uses the premise to support the conclusion. The core proposition is that an argument of this form provides no independent support, so however complete it appears, it establishes nothing about the world; the diagnostic test is whether the evidence offered is independent of the claim it is meant to support. The key qualification is that mutual support between multiple genuinely independent sources is not circularity, so the check must trace each line of evidence back to its origin before declaring a loop.
SCAFFOLDING EFFECT
Reduce cognitive load
- Lay Out The Structure: write the premises and the conclusion separately and trace what supports each. - Test Independence: ask whether the evidence would hold if the conclusion were false. - Demand External Support: require at least one line of evidence that does not depend on the claim.
Anchor fast decisions
An argument establishes its conclusion only if the premises are supported independently of it. When the premise derives its support from the conclusion, the argument reduces to the claim that the conclusion is true because it is true, which conveys no information. Exposing the loop therefore requires following the support chain to its origin rather than evaluating each link in isolation.
MINIMUM ACTION
In progress 0/1Practice this model in one real situation:
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Source support: Explicit
- zh.wikipedia.orghttps://zh.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E5%BE%AA%E7%92%B0%E8%AB%96%E8%AD%89verified
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