Three Problems: bare claims, infinite regressions of unproven proofs, circular reasoning.

FREE Book: “Encyclopedia of Logical Fallacies”
https://realreality.org/download-encyclopedia-of-logical-fallacies/

FREE Book: “The Nuts and Bolts of Being Rational”
https://realreality.org/the-nuts-and-bolts-of-being-rational/

FREE Book: “How God Will Transform You”
https://realreality.org/how-god-will-transform-you/

All human reasoning ends up in either a bare claim, an infinite regression of unproven proofs, or circular reasoning. Human reasoning can’t be trusted. Jesus can be trusted. All who sincerely seek Him and His will do find Him. If you ask, He will answer you. You must wait in His presence, listen to His voice, and yield to His Spirit to the point of obedience. If we add anything to what Jesus says, we have spoiled it. That includes our interpretations of experiences, conversations, interactions, observations, or even Scripture. The problem is that we sometimes add our preconceived ideas without even realizing we’re doing so.

What is an infinite regression of unproven proofs?

1. Ungodly Thinker: A is true
2. Questioner: How do you know A is true.
3. Ungodly Thinker: A is true because of B
4. Questioner: How do you know B is true.
5. Ungodly Thinker: B is true because of C
6. Questioner: How do you know C is true.
7. Ungodly Thinker: C is true because of D
8. Questioner: How do you know D is true.

The ungodly thinker is no further ahead than when he or she started. That’s why a person without God ends in an infinite regression of unproven proofs. This fallacy is a smokescreen.

Smokescreens cover the real problem. The real problem is the bare claim. Bare claims are axiomatic thinking fallacy. Axiomatic thinking is the art of making up stuff. Smokescreen fallacies are ways to give the illusion that made-up stuff is true stuff. In all cases, ungodly thinker’s premises consist of made-up stuff—if they even bother with premises. Most ungodly thinkers just make bare claims and don’t bother with premises. Some ungodly thinkers use all sorts of smokescreen fallacies to make their bare claims appear reasonable. They generally include one or more smokescreen fallacies to give the illusion their made-up stuff is real stuff. However, it’s not real. It’s just made-up stuff.

We see infinite regression in the idea of citations.  If you ask ChatGPT artificial intelligence how infinite regression applies to citations, ChatGPT’s programming will defend citations.

Here’s part of the answer I got:

Why Citations Aren’t an Infinite Regress

Citations usually trace knowledge back to some foundation. That foundation might be:

Empirical evidence

• Experiments
• Observations
• Measurements
• Statistical data

Artificial Intelligence programs tend to give extremely secular answers when asked this type of question, but they often back down when asked a follow-up question. I asked this question:

Do the citations just cite the experiments, observations, measurements, or statistics or do they also state the conclusions based on those experiments, observations, measurements, or statistics?

Here’s part of the answer I got:

Citations typically do both of these things:

1. Point to facts (data, observations, experiments)
2. Point to conclusions or interpretations drawn from those facts

So the citation refers not just to the data but also to reasoning and conclusions.

I asked a second follow-up question:

Is there any truly empirical evidence given the fact that no one can get outside himself or herself to be objective?

From that, I pulled out this information:

• We can’t be purely objective.
• Peer review can become groupthink.
• Science operates in paradigms.
• Grants are written to get funding, not just to explore truth.
• Researchers may focus on data supporting the funded hypothesis, avoid exploring unexpected results, “torture the data” to find statistically significant findings.

There’s more to this, but the bottom line is that citations are indeed an example of infinite regression.

A solution for infinite regression is to just hook the logic back into itself. That’s called circular reasoning or reasoning in a circle.

We know how old the various rock layers are because of the index fossils in the rocks. And we know how old the index fossils are because of the rock layers they are in.;

Only the material realm exists. Therefore, only what I can physically observe and test exists. Since I can’t observe or test the spiritual realm, the spiritual realm doesn’t exist. Therefore, only the material realm exists.

If ungodly thinkers are skilled persuaders, they might fool you. What they say can seem reasonable. Smokescreen fallacies make it seem reasonable. And yet, where is the proof for what they say? A charming or charismatic person can suck you in, and you may never realize you’re being taken along for a ride into the land of fantasy. Most ungodly persuaders don’t even know they’re lying. They’re sincere as they try to convince you of things that aren’t true. They’re sincerely deluded.