Skip to content
quotesby

About this quote

What does it mean?
The argument is not clearly circular but wraps around like a closed curve.
In plain terms
This argument loops back on itself without being obviously circular.
What can you take from it?
Circular arguments can be subtle.

Where it applies

  • debating
  • writing arguments
  • studying logic

Putting it to work

  • check for loops
  • trace premises
  • ask for evidence

Questions to consider

  • Is all reasoning circular?
  • How do we validate arguments?

Another view

Some reasoning relies on foundational assumptions.

More from Willard van Orman Quine

  1. The word 'definition' has come to have a dangerously reassuring sound, owing no doubt to its frequent occurrence in logical and mathematical writings.'

    Permalink to quote #5
  2. A fancifully fancyless medium of unvarnished news.

    Permalink to quote #7
  3. Wyman's overpopulated universe is in many ways unlovely. It offends the aesthetic sense of us who have a taste for desert landscapes.

    Permalink to quote #4

Related quotes

  1. Metaphysics is the finding of bad reasons for what we believe upon instinct; but to find these reasons is no less an instinct.

    F. H. BradleyF. H. Bradley quote #2
  2. Briefly, you can only find truth with logic if you have already found truth without it.

    Gilbert Keith ChestertonGilbert Keith Chesterton quote #10
  3. What can be asserted without proof can be dismissed without proof.

    Christopher HitchensChristopher Hitchens quote #10