Recursion: see recursion

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With apologies to the late Douglas Adams:

"I refuse to prove that I exist," says God, "For proof denies faith and without faith I am nothing."

"But oh, says Man, "intelligent design is a dead giveaway. It
proves that you exist and therefore you don't."

"Oh Dear," says God, "I hadn't thought of that," and promptly vanishes in a puff of logic.

Words are a tricky thing. We understand them to mean certain concepts and then along comes a use that contradicts the accepted meaning and we have a logic problem.

$cientology claims protection under the First Amendment because it is a religion. We also know that at the OT3 level adherents are told that all the world's religions are false implants, created by the evil galactic dictator Xenu to cause misery and suffering through those alien souls that inhabit every one of us who has not been cleared through $cientology.

If A=B and B=C, then A=C. That's a basic function of logic. So if all religions are a lie, and $cientology is a religion, then $cientology is a lie.

From The Nizkor Project

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Also Known as: Circular Reasoning, Reasoning in a Circle, Petitio Principii.

Description of Begging the Question

Begging the Question is a fallacy in which the premises includethe claim that the conclusion is true or (directly or indirectly) assume that the conclusion is true. This sort of "reasoning" typically has the following form.

1. Premises in which the truth of the conclusion is claimed or the truth of the conclusion is assumed (either directly or indirectly).
   
2. Claim C (the conclusion) is true.
   

This sort of "reasoning" is fallacious because simply assuming that the conclusion is true (directly or indirectly) in the premises does not constitute evidence for that conclusion. Obviously, simply assuming a claim is true does not serve as evidence for that claim. This is especially clear in particularly blatant cases: "X is true. The evidence for this claim is that X is true."

Some cases of question begging are fairly blatant, while others can be extremely subtle.

Examples of Begging the Question

1. Bill: "God must exist."
   
   Jill: "How do you know."
   
   Bill: "Because the Bible says so."
   
   Jill: "Why should I believe the Bible?"
   
   Bill: "Because the Bible was written by God."
   
2. "If such actions were not illegal, then they would not be prohibited by the law."
   
3. "The belief in God is universal. After all, everyone believes in God."
   
4. Interviewer: "Your resume looks impressive but I need another reference."
   
   Bill: "Jill can give me a good reference."
   
   Interviewer: "Good. But how do I know that Jill is trustworthy?"
   
   Bill: "Certainly. I can vouch for her."