Begging the question
Begging the question requires two or more ideas.[1] Each of these ideas may or may not be true. The speaker of these ideas tries to show that one idea is true by saying a second idea proves it, but the second idea is true only if the first idea is true already.
Begging the question is commonly known as circular reasoning, though they are not exactly the same.
Begging the question is a fallacy.
Examples
- "If such actions were not illegal, then they would not be prohibited by the law." (The sentence means "If that wasn't okay, then it wouldn't be okay.")
Modern usage
"This begs the question" has recently been used to mean "this raises the question." This usage is often criticized as inappropriate.[2]
Begging The Question Media
Bust of Aristotle, whose Prior Analytics contained an early discussion of this fallacy
References
- ↑ Begging-the-Question (2019-05-15). "Begging the Question". www.txstate.edu. Retrieved 2020-10-25.
- ↑ Fogarty, Mignon. "Begs the Question".
