The History of Circular Reasoning

CLASSICAL:

1. The wisest man must know his own ignorance in all matters.

2. If he knew more, it hsppens he would have to pretend.

3. But if he pretended, he would know less.

4. Therefore, the wisest man knows nothing.

5. That is the only way he can know anything.


MEDIEVAL:

1. God is said to be perfect.

2. If he were perfect, how could he create evil?

3. In some ways a God who creates evil is evil himself.

4. But he is the most perfect, therefore he is not evil.

5. Therefore, evil must arise from the most perfect, but this is a contradiction.


RATIONALISM:

1. We think it's real.

2. But we must trust our senses.

3. Our senses say it's real.

4. But only if we trust them. Trust is the only thing left other than our senses, and besides, we don't know if we can trust them.

5. We are left with s foreboding doubt and the senses.

HEGEL:

1. You need an adequate object.

2. There is an adequate attempt.

3. But it is still an object.

4. You can look for another object.

5. But then it might be a less authentic object, and it is still an object.

MODERN / POSTMODERN:

1. You want something to mean something.

2. So you need truth.

3. You need a truth designator.

4. But truth designators point to other designators.

5. Truth is a crazy game.

---(Some credit: The Philosophy Book, DK press)

CONTEMPORARY:

1. You need a statement.
2. The statement requires proof.
3. The proof requires magic. But something ought to be provable by some qualification, or nothing is real.
4. To say magic you need a magic theory.
5. Magic theories are currently ‘banned’ by science.

---https://www.quora.com/Why-arent-there-any-famous-present-day-philosophers/answer/Nathan-Coppedge


SEE ALSO:

Greatest Movements