Logical & Critical Thinking

with Professor Logic

Circular Cause and Consequent

April 29, 2011

Circular cause and consequence is where the consequence of a thing is also the cause. Often the mere contemplation of the consequence is what causes the consequence.

Circular Cause and Consequent Example

Religious fundamentalist become so infatuated with apocalyptic prophecy their fear and agitation leads to violence, destruction, and death.

Worrying about doing bad on a test causes so much anxiety that you forget many answers, the consequence (doing bad on the test) ended up causing itself due to the mere thought of it.

The fear the stock market will crash causes people to stop investing thus causing the stock crash.

Tactical Uses of Circular Cause and Consequent

Use of this fallacy is seen by having foresight into behavior within a system. So let’s look at how this is tactically used and how we can point it out. Someone might say that the Jews returning to Israel/Palestine is proof of biblical prophecy. However, if one sees the behavior within the system we can then see that the mere prophecy existing might be the cause for the Jews returning to Israel/Palestine. By merely having the prophecy in the religion causes many Jews to strive to return home, and Christians to help them.

  • thepenguin8

    Your examples aren’t really fallacies. They are circular, but they are also valid explanations of a phenomenon. This fallacy must occur when the reason you give for something happening, is the something that happens. For example…”The bible is true, because it says it’s true” or “I know Johnny didn’t lie, because he said that he told the truth”

    • josephleon9

      This is a specific fallacy in cause-effect relationships, not circular logic. Circular cause and consequent is a specific case where the belief in a consequence is actually the cause. When this happens this leads to the belief that the there is a different causal relation other than the consequence itself.

      When you say the “bible is true because it says its true” is not the circular cause and consequence. Believing the bible to be true does not cause the consequence ie. the bible being true. Believing bible prophecy to be true and thereby living to promote its happening could lead to consequence. If living to cause prophecy leads to bible prophecy fulfillment then this would be circular cause and consequence. The person initially believing would then think that the cause was the bible/god and the prophecy was fulfilled cause of god/bible. When in fact their own belief in god/bible was the very cause for fulfillment.