Do Christians use circular reasoning when they presuppose that God exists? Is circular reasoning a logical fallacy? Darius and Karin Viet explain.
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Circular Reasoning – Answers in Genesis
Presuppositional Apologetics and Circular Reasoning
Douglas Wilson, John M. Frame and James N. Anderson answer the typical refutation of presuppositional apologetics that it is circular reasoning and begging the question.
Does Presuppositionalism Engage in Question-Begging?
The Gospel Coalition is running a series on methods in apologetics. The latest installment is “Questioning Presuppositionalism” by Dr. Paul Copan, who raises four criticisms of presuppositionalism, one of which is the old canard that presuppositionalists engage in fallacious circular reasoning. (I think all four are misguided in one way or another, but the other three will have to wait for now.) He writes:
Dr. Copan is a gentleman and a scholar, so I’m sure he doesn’t realize quite how insulting this sounds to presuppositionalists! (For comparison, imagine someone claiming that evidentialists commit the fallacy of affirming the consequent because they use inductive inferences.) This criticism has been answered many times, so it’s disappointing to find it cropping up yet again (although perhaps presuppositionalists should take comfort from the fact that Dr. Copan doesn’t offer any new criticisms!). Even so, I’ll try to explain one more time why this complaint so badly misses the mark. |
Presuppositional Apologetics and Circular Reasoning
While presuppositional apologists would agree that there is circular reasoning in Cornelius Van Til’s method, they would argue it is not begging the question in a fallacious sense.
Presuppositional Apologetics and Circular Reasoning from shirley rose on Vimeo.