Chicken or the egg
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Chicken-and-egg problem)
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Illustration from
Tacuina sanitatis, Fourteenth century
The
chicken or the egg causality dilemma is commonly stated as "which came first, the
chicken or the
egg?"
Chickens hatch from eggs, but eggs are laid by chickens, making it difficult to say which originally gave rise to the other. To ancient philosophers, the question about the first chicken or egg also evoked the questions of how life and the universe in general began.
[1]
Cultural references to the
chicken and egg intend to point out the futility of identifying the first case of a
circular cause and consequence. It could be considered that in this approach lies the most fundamental nature of the question, for a literal answer is somewhat obvious, as opposed to the
logical fallacy of the
metaphorical view, which sets a
metaphysical ground on the dilemma. So, to understand its metaphorical meaning better, it could be reformulated as follows: "Which came first, X that can't come without Y, or Y that can't come without X?"