homunculus argument

noun

An informal fallacy whereby a concept is explained in terms of the concept itself, recursively.

Ask AI about this wordChatGPTClaudePerplexityGoogle AIGrok

Meanings

nounhomunculus argument (plural homunculus arguments)

plural homunculus arguments

  1. An informal fallacy whereby a concept is explained in terms of the concept itself, recursively.

Origin

In reference to a fallacy of this kind relating to the theory of vision. If one explains that light forms an image on the retinas and something in the brain observes these images, then the same question arises: how does this observation occur?

Full word history & related roots →
Cite this entry
APA

homunculus argument. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 4, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/homunculus%20argument

MLA

“homunculus argument.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/homunculus%20argument. Accessed November 4, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “homunculus argument,” accessed November 4, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/homunculus%20argument.

Source: homunculus argument on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.