pandemic cycle

An instance of epistemic circularity occurs when your justification for thinking that something is a justification source comes from that source. For example, suppose I try to convince you that the testimony of a particular mystic guru provides justification. The reason why that claim is justified (I might argue) is that the guru himself said it; and since his testimony provides justification, the claim is justified! Suppose also that I rely on no other evidence. It is not as if I am testing what he says against an independent source. I am relying on the guru's testimony to justify the claim that it is a source of justification