Circular reasoning

Circular reasoning is a type of logical fallacy in which the "proof" of a statement ultimately depends on assuming the truth of the statement itself.

A very common example in the area of religion is the following argument from scripture:

1. We know that God exists because the Bible says so.
2. We know that Bible is correct because it is the inspired word of God.

In other words:

Bible implies God implies Bible

Neither the assertion that "God exists" nor that "the Bible is correct" have been independently proved without relying on the assumption of the other.

See also

• Begging the question