Logical Fallacy of Begging the Question / Vicious Circle / Chicken And Egg Argument

Whenever a logical fallacy is committed, the fallacy has its roots in Agrippa's trilemma which is simply the fact that the foundation of all human thought (without Divine revelation) is based on one of three unhappy possibilities. These three possibilities are infinite regression, circular reasoning, or bare assertions without any evidence. Begging the question, a form of circular reasoning, is one of these three unhappy possibilities.

The Logical Fallacy of Begging the Question / Vicious Circle / Chicken And Egg Argument occurs when the conclusion of the argument is one of the premises/axioms/principles on which the argument itself rests. That is, when the conclusion, the very thing that is in question, is assumed in a premise. The presence of the conclusion being the basis for the premise is usually well concealed and difficult to detect.

Examples of the Logical Fallacy of Begging the Question / Vicious Circle / Chicken And Egg Argument

Sandra: "Science confirms that God doesn't exist."

Roxy: "Agrippa's Trilemma destroys science if God doesn't exist and reveal Himself to humanity. You may know Agrippa's Trilemma as Münchhausen Trilemma or Albert's Trilemma. If a naturalistic presupposition is any part of the foundation of thought, then Agrippa's Trilemma is in force. A chain of thought is as strong as its weakest link. This chain must begin with something that is absolute, but all that is available is infinite regress, circular reasoning, or axiomatic thinking. So what makes you think that science confirms that God doesn't exist. Are you beginning with the assumption of Materialism and Naturalism? What are your starting assumptions."

Sandra: "I don't get that thing about Agrippa's Trilemma, but the axioms of science are Materialism, Naturalism, and Uniformitarianism."

Roxy: "Axioms are just assumptions that someone becomes dogmatic about. Materialism is a way of claiming there is no God. Materialism is a way of claiming that there is no God. Uniformitarianism is a way of claiming that the Genesis Flood never happened. So, you are assuming "no God" as a starting point of reasoning to prove "no God." That is begging the question."

Fallacy Abuse

Sandy: "You Christians are begging the question. You believe the Bible is true because the Bible says that it is true. To reason that way, you have to first assume that the Bible is true."

Rocky: "Maybe some Christians do that. I don't think that Christians who are following Christ do that, though. Those who follow Christ know Christ. Christ leads them moment by moment. They know His Voice. Christ instructs them that the Bible is the Word of God and that it is without error. And, Christ speaks to them through the Bible. They don't try to figure it out. The pray and ask the Holy Spirit to reveal God's will to them. They don't get dogmatic about theology because Christ reveals that they don't know anything as they ought to know. They don't want to hold onto doctrine so tightly that not even the Holy Spirit can correct them."