Errors in Reasoning Questions - - Question 84

S. R. Evans: A few critics have dismissed my poems as not being poems and have dismissed me as not being a poet. But ...

amarachicynthia January 17, 2021

Answer choice A

How is this circular reasoning?

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shunhe January 30, 2021

Hi @amarachicynthia,

Thanks for the question! So remember, we conclude that the judgments should be rejected since the critics aren’t true poets; in other words, we conclude that Evans is a true poet. How do we know they’re not true poets? Because they don’t have poetic creativity. How do we know there’s no poetic creativity? Because Evans told us so, and she’s a true poet! So the argument concludes that Evans is a true poet, but also assumes that she’s a true poet! That’s circular reasoning, a big no-no.

Hope this helps! Feel free to ask any other questions that you might have.