Circular Reasoning/Begging the Question John McGhee Wyatt Price

Definition Begging the question, is a logical fallacy in which the writer or speaker assumes the statement under examination to be true. In other words, begging the question involves using a idea to support itself. If the idea is uncertain, then the argument is bad. The most basic instances of begging the question involve rephrasing. (grammarist.com)

Examples from The Crucible Act II –“ If you say I am one, then I say there are none.” -Elizabeth Pg.200 Elizabeth Proctor is being questioned by Hale on if she believes in witches, with her being a Christian woman, she says that if she is being accused of being a witch, then she does not believe witches exist. It is not possible for her to be a witch, therefore they do not exist.

Act III- Hawthorne: “How do you know, then, that you are not a witch?” Martha Corey: “If I were, I would know it.” Pg.207 Martha Corey answers his question by circling back to his original question on if she knew what a witch is. She previously stated that she did not know what a witch is, yet now she says that if she was a witch, she would know it. Thus, using circular reasoning.

Real life Example Religion is the most common of circular reasoning. One who believes in some sort of religion does not need logic to show or prove their religion, but faith. But when their beliefs are put into questions people circle through using faulty logic then simply enplaning them selves. Unaticfaith. N.p., n.d. Web. Mar.-Apr. 2013.