12/30/2017 Circular definition - Wikipedia

Circular definition
A circular definition is one that
uses the term(s) being defined as a
part of the definition or assumes a
prior understanding of the term
being defined. There are several
kinds of circular definition, and
several ways of characterising the
term: pragmatic, lexicographic and
linguistic.

Circular definition of "circular

definition"

Contents
Approaches to characterizing
circular definitions
Pragmatic
Lexicographic
Linguistic
Mathematical
Circular lexicographic
(dictionary) definitions
Examples of narrowly circular
definitions in dictionaries
See also
References

Approaches to characterizing
circular definitions
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Pragmatic
From a pragmatic point of view, circular definitions may be characterised in
terms of new, useful or helpful information: A definition is deficient if the
audience must either already know the meaning of the key term, or if the term
to be defined is used in the definition itself. Such definitions lead to a need for
additional information that motivated someone to look at the definition in the
first place and, thus, violate the principle of providing new or useful
information.[1] Here are some examples:

Suppose we define "oak" as a tree which has catkins and grows from an
acorn, and then define "acorn" as the nut produced by an oak tree. To
someone who does not know which trees are oaks, nor which nuts are
acorns, the definition is inadequate.
If someone wants to know what a cellular phone is, telling them that it is a
"phone that is cellular" will not be especially illuminating. Much more
helpful would be to explain the concept of a cell in the context of
telecommunications, or at least to make some reference to portability.
Similarly, defining dialectical materialism as "materialism that involves
dialectic" is unhelpful.
Consequently, when constructing systems of definitions, authors should use
good practices that avoid producing viciously circular definitions. In many
learner's dictionaries, circular definitions are greatly reduced by writing
definitions using only the words in a constrained defining vocabulary.[2]

Lexicographic
From a lexicographic point of view, the simplest form of circular definition in a
dictionary is in terms of synonyms, and the number of steps for closing the
definition chain into a circle is known as the depth of the circular definition:
the circular definition "object: a thing" → "thing: an object" is a circular
definition with a depth of two. The circular definition "object: a thing" →
"thing: an entity" → "entity: an object" has a depth of three.

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The classic "genus-difference" dictionary definition is in terms of nearest kind

(genus proximum) and specific differences (differentia specifica). This genus-
difference description may be involved in producing circular definitions of part
and kind relationships, for example: "rake: an implement with three or more
tines" → "tine: a part of a rake". However, if more specific differences are
added, then the effect of circularity may disappear: "rake: a gardening
implement with a long handle with three or more tines arranged on crossbar at
90° to the handle and the tines at 90° to both crossbar and handle"; in this
case, "tine" is most usefully defined with reference to "rake", but with
additional differences providing points of comparison, e.g.: "tine: a sharp spike
at the end of a rake". In practice, a pragmatic approach is often taken in
considering the effects of circularity in dictionary definitions.[3]

Linguistic
From a linguistic point of view, some intuitively circular definitions in the
derivation of words can easily be shown to be non-circular. For example,
sometimes a definition like "musicality: the quality or state of being musical" is
said to be circular. But strictly speaking, the condition "the term(s) being
defined as a part of the definition or assumes a prior understanding of the term
being defined" is false in this case. The definition chain "musicality: the quality
or state of being musical" → "musical: associated with music" → "music: an
acoustic art form" is a two-step derivation of the word "musicality" from the
root "music", where the chain ends. A definition chain which ends is not
circular. It may be objected that the term to be defined and one of the
difference terms in the definition share the same root; the answer is that the
objection requires prior analysis of the terms in order to identify identical
parts, yet the terms themselves cannot be reduced to these parts: the meaning
of "musicality" is composed of the meaning of "musical" and the meaning of
"ity", the meaning of "musical" is composed of the meaning of "music" and
"al". In each case, the terms to be defined and the terms in the definition are
different.

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Mathematical
Formal approaches to characterizing circular definitions are found in logic,
mathematics and in computer science. A branch of mathematics called non-
well-founded set theory allows for the construction of circular sets. Circular
sets are good for modelling cycles and, despite the field's name, this area of
mathematics is well founded. Computer science allows for procedures to be
defined by using recursion. Such definitions are not circular as long as they
terminate.

Circular lexicographic (dictionary)
definitions
Dictionary entries are often given as examples of apparent circular definitions.
Dictionary production, as a project in lexicography, should not be confused
with a mathematical or logical activity, where giving a definition for a word is
similar to providing an explanans for an explanandum in a context where
practitioners are expected to use a deductive system.[4][5] While, from a
linguistic prescriptivist perspective, any dictionary might be believed to dictate
correct usage, the linguistic descriptivist perspective recognizes that looking up
words in dictionaries is not itself a rule-following practice independent of the
give-and-take of using words in context.[5] Thus, the example of a definition of
oak given above (something that has catkins and grows from acorns) is not
completely useless, even if "acorn" and "catkin" are defined in terms of "oak",
in that it supplies additional concepts (e.g., the concept of catkin) in the
definition.

While a dictionary might produce a "circle" among the terms, "oak", "catkin",
and "acorn", each of these is used in different contexts (e.g., those related to
plants, trees, flowers, and seeds) that generate ever-branching networks of
usages. In another case it might produce a true circle. Taken as a whole,
dictionaries are circular because each and every word is defined in terms of
words that are also contained within the dictionary. ( A person could not pick

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up a (foreign) dictionary and make any sense of it unless they already know the
meaning of a minimal subset of a number of words without having the need to
refer to the dictionary for said meaning. )

A circular definition crept into the classic definition of death that was once
"the permanent cessation of the flow of vital bodily fluids", which raised the
question "what makes a fluid vital?"[6]

Definitions in lexicography can be broadly or narrowly circular. Narrowly

circular definitions simply define one word in terms of another. A broadly
circular definition has a larger circle of words. For example, the definition of
the primary word is defined using two other words, which are defined with two
other words, etc., creating a definitional chain. This can continue until the
primary word is used to define one of the words used in the chain, closing the
wide circle of terms. If all definitions rely on the definitions of other words in a
very large, but finite chain, then all text-based definitions are ultimately
circular. Extension (semantics) to the actual things that referring terms like
nouns stand for, provided that agreement on reference is accomplished, is one
method of breaking this circularity, but this is outside the capacity of a text-
based definition.

Examples of narrowly circular
definitions in dictionaries
The 2007 Merriam-Webster dictionary defines a "hill" and a "mountain" this
way:

hill - "1: a usually rounded natural elevation of land lower

than a mountain"[7]
mountain - "1a: a landmass that projects conspicuously
above its surroundings and is higher than a hill"[8]

Merriam-Webster's online dictionary provides another example of a circular

definition with the words "condescending" and "patronizing:"

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Main Entry: condescending[9]

Function: adjective
1 : showing or characterized by condescension : patronizing

This definition alone is close to suffering from circular definition, but following
the definition train:

Main Entry: condescension[10]

Function: noun
1 : voluntary descent from one's rank or dignity in relations
with an inferior
2 : patronizing attitude or behavior

Looking up the word "patronizing" then gives us:

Main Entry: patronize[11]

Function: transitive verb
1 : to act as patron of : provide aid or support for
2 : to adopt an air of condescension toward : treat
haughtily or coolly

The following definition of the adjective "inspiring" appears to be a circular

definition, but in the phrase "effect of inspiring someone", the word "inspiring"
is actually the inflected verb "inspire", which is defined without using the
adjective "inspiring":

inspiring (adjective) - having the effect of inspiring

someone[12]
inspire (verb) - fill (someone) with the urge or ability to do or
feel something, especially to do something creative[13]

See also
Fallacies of definition
Begging the question
Tautology
Self-reference
Meta-circular evaluator
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Recursive definition
Infinite regress
Genus–differentia definition
Lexical definition
Lexicography
Revision theory
Vicious circle principle

References
1. Wierzbicka, A. Semantics: Primes and Universals. Oxford University
Press: 1996.
2. Bullock, D. 'NSM + LDOCE: A Non-Circular Dictionary of English',
International Journal of Lexicography, 24/2, 2011: 226-240
3. Atkins, B. and M. Rundell. The Oxford Guide to Practical Lexicography.
Oxford University Press: 2008.
4. Michael Silverstein (2006). "Old Wine, New Ethnographic Lexicography (ht
tp://www.annualreviews.org/doi/abs/10.1146/annurev.anthro.35.081705.12
3327?journalCode=anthro)". Annual Review of Anthropology, 35:486-7.
5. Philip Seargeant, "Lexicography as a Philosophy of Language". Language
Sciences, 33:1-10 (2011).
6. Tulloch, Gail (2005). Euthanasia, Choice and Death, p.8. Edinburgh
University. ISBN 9780748618811.
7. "hill" (http://www.m-w.com/dictionary/hill). Merriam-Webster. Retrieved
January 17, 2013.
8. "mountain" (http://www.m-w.com/dictionary/mountain). Merriam-Webster.
Retrieved January 17, 2013.
9. "condescending" (http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/condescend
ing). Merriam-Webster. Retrieved January 17, 2013.
10. "condescension" (http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/condescensi
on). Merriam-Webster. Retrieved January 17, 2013.
11. "patronizing" (http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/patronizing).
Merriam-Webster. Retrieved January 17, 2013.
12. "inspiring" (http://www.oxforddictionaries.com/definition/english/inspiring).
Oxford Dictionary. Retrieved August 2, 2016.

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13. "inspire" (http://www.oxforddictionaries.com/definition/english/inspire#inspi

re__2). Oxford Dictionary. Retrieved August 2, 2016.

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