fallacy of begging the question
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In classical
rhetoric Rhetoric is the art of persuasion. It is one of the three ancient arts of discourse ( trivium) along with grammar and logic/ dialectic. As an academic discipline within the humanities, rhetoric aims to study the techniques that speakers or w ...
and
logic Logic is the study of correct reasoning. It includes both formal and informal logic. Formal logic is the study of deductively valid inferences or logical truths. It examines how conclusions follow from premises based on the structure o ...
, begging the question or assuming the conclusion (
Latin Latin ( or ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic languages, Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally spoken by the Latins (Italic tribe), Latins in Latium (now known as Lazio), the lower Tiber area aroun ...
: ) is an
informal fallacy Informal fallacies are a type of incorrect argument in natural language. The source of the error is not just due to the ''form'' of the argument, as is the case for formal fallacies, but can also be due to their ''content'' and ''context''. Fallac ...
that occurs when an argument's premises assume the
truth Truth or verity is the Property (philosophy), property of being in accord with fact or reality.Merriam-Webster's Online Dictionarytruth, 2005 In everyday language, it is typically ascribed to things that aim to represent reality or otherwise cor ...
of the conclusion. Historically, begging the question refers to a fault in a
dialectical Dialectic (; ), also known as the dialectical method, refers originally to dialogue between people holding different points of view about a subject but wishing to arrive at the truth through reasoned argument. Dialectic resembles debate, but the c ...
argument An argument is a series of sentences, statements, or propositions some of which are called premises and one is the conclusion. The purpose of an argument is to give reasons for one's conclusion via justification, explanation, and/or persu ...
in which the speaker assumes some
premise A premise or premiss is a proposition—a true or false declarative statement—used in an argument to prove the truth of another proposition called the conclusion. Arguments consist of a set of premises and a conclusion. An argument is meaningf ...
that has not been demonstrated to be true. In modern usage, it has come to refer to an argument in which the premises assume the conclusion without supporting it. This makes it an example of
circular reasoning Circular reasoning (, "circle in proving"; also known as circular logic) is a fallacy, logical fallacy in which the reasoner begins with what they are trying to end with. Circular reasoning is not a formal logical fallacy, but a pragmatic defect ...
.Herrick (2000) 248. Some examples are: *“Wool sweaters are better than nylon jackets as fall attire because wool sweaters have higher wool content". ** The claim in this quote is that wool sweaters are better than nylon jackets as fall attire. However, the justification of this claim begs the question because it ''presupposes'' that wool sweaters are better than nylon jackets: in other words, wool sweaters are better than nylon jackets because wool is better than nylon. An
essentialist Essentialism is the view that objects have a set of attributes that are necessary to their identity. In early Western thought, Platonic idealism held that all things have such an "essence"—an "idea" or "form". In '' Categories'', Aristotle s ...
analysis of this claim observes that anything made of wool intrinsically has more "wool content" than that which is not made of wool, giving this quote weak
explanatory power Explanatory power is the ability of a hypothesis or theory to explain the subject matter effectively to which it pertains. Its opposite is ''explanatory impotence''. In the past, various criteria or measures for explanatory power have been prop ...
as to why wool is superior to nylon in the first place. *"Drugs are illegal so they must be bad for you. Therefore, we ought not legalize drugs because drugs are bad for you." The phrase ''beg the question'' can also mean "strongly prompt the question", a usage that is distinct from the sense in logic but is widespread, though some consider it incorrect.


History

The original phrase used by
Aristotle Aristotle (; 384–322 BC) was an Ancient Greek philosophy, Ancient Greek philosopher and polymath. His writings cover a broad range of subjects spanning the natural sciences, philosophy, linguistics, economics, politics, psychology, a ...
from which ''begging the question'' descends is , or sometimes , . Aristotle's intended meaning is closely tied to the type of
dialectic Dialectic (; ), also known as the dialectical method, refers originally to dialogue between people holding different points of view about a subject but wishing to arrive at the truth through reasoned argument. Dialectic resembles debate, but the ...
al argument he discusses in his '' Topics'', book VIII: a formalized debate in which the defending party asserts a thesis that the attacking party must attempt to refute by asking yes-or-no questions and deducing some inconsistency between the responses and the original thesis. In this stylized form of debate, the proposition that the answerer undertakes to defend is called () and one of the rules of the debate is that the questioner cannot simply ask (beg) for it (that would be trivial and uninteresting). Aristotle discusses this in ''
Sophistical Refutations ''Sophistical Refutations'' (; ) is a text in Aristotle's ''Organon'' in which he identified thirteen fallacies.Sometimes listed as twelve. According to Aristotle, this is the first work to treat the subject of deductive reasoning in ancient Gree ...
'' and in '' Prior Analytics'' book II, (64b, 34–65a 9, for circular reasoning see 57b, 18–59b, 1). The stylized dialectical exchanges Aristotle discusses in the ''Topics'' included rules for scoring the debate, and one important issue was precisely the matter of ''asking for the initial thing''—which included not just making the actual thesis adopted by the answerer into a question, but also making a question out of a sentence that was too close to that thesis (for example, '' PA'' II 16). The term was translated into English from
Latin Latin ( or ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic languages, Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally spoken by the Latins (Italic tribe), Latins in Latium (now known as Lazio), the lower Tiber area aroun ...
in the 16th century. The Latin version, , can be interpreted in different ways. (from ), in the
post-classical In Human history, world history, post-classical history refers to the period from about 500 CE to 1500 CE, roughly corresponding to the European Middle Ages. The period is characterized by the expansion of civilizations geographically an ...
context in which the phrase arose, means or , but in the older classical sense means , or . ,
genitive In grammar, the genitive case ( abbreviated ) is the grammatical case that marks a word, usually a noun, as modifying another word, also usually a noun—thus indicating an attributive relationship of one noun to the other noun. A genitive can ...
of , means , or (of an argument). Literally means or . The Latin phrase comes from the Greek ( ) in Aristotle's ''Prior Analytics'' II xvi 64b28–65a26: Aristotle's distinction between apodictic science and other forms of nondemonstrative knowledge rests on an
epistemology Epistemology is the branch of philosophy that examines the nature, origin, and limits of knowledge. Also called "the theory of knowledge", it explores different types of knowledge, such as propositional knowledge about facts, practical knowle ...
and
metaphysics Metaphysics is the branch of philosophy that examines the basic structure of reality. It is traditionally seen as the study of mind-independent features of the world, but some theorists view it as an inquiry into the conceptual framework of ...
wherein appropriate
first principles In philosophy and science, a first principle is a basic proposition or assumption that cannot be deduced from any other proposition or assumption. First principles in philosophy are from first cause attitudes and taught by Aristotelians, and nuan ...
become apparent to the trained dialectician: Thomas Fowler believed that would be more properly called , which is literally .Fowler, Thomas (1887)
''The Elements of Deductive Logic, Ninth Edition''
(p. 145). Oxford, England: Clarendon Press.


Definition

To (also called ) is to attempt to support a claim with a premise that itself restates or presupposes the claim.Welton (1905), 279., " is, therefore, committed when a proposition which requires proof is assumed without proof." It is an attempt to prove a proposition while simultaneously taking the proposition for granted. When the fallacy involves only a single variable, it is sometimes called a ''
hysteron proteron The hysteron proteron (from the , ''hýsteron próteron'', "later earlier") is a rhetorical device. It occurs when the first key word of the idea refers to something that happens temporally later than the second key word. The goal is to call attent ...
''Davies (1915), 572.Welton (1905), 280–282. (Greek for ), a
rhetoric Rhetoric is the art of persuasion. It is one of the three ancient arts of discourse ( trivium) along with grammar and logic/ dialectic. As an academic discipline within the humanities, rhetoric aims to study the techniques that speakers or w ...
al device, as in the statement: Reading this sentence, the only thing one can learn is a new word (soporific) that refers to a more common action (inducing sleep); it does not explain why opium causes that effect. A sentence that explains why opium often induces sleep (or the same, why opium has soporific quality) is where the specific physiological processes are omitted for simplicity. A less obvious example from ''Fallacies and Pitfalls of Language: The Language Trap'' by S. Morris Engel: This form of the fallacy may not be immediately obvious. Linguistic variations in syntax, sentence structure, and the literary device may conceal it, as may other factors involved in an argument's delivery. It may take the form of an unstated premise which is essential but not identical to the conclusion, or is "controversial or questionable for the same reasons that typically might lead someone to question the conclusion": For example, one can obscure the fallacy by first making a statement in concrete terms, then attempting to pass off an identical statement, delivered in abstract terms, as evidence for the original. One could also "bring forth a proposition expressed in words of
Saxon The Saxons, sometimes called the Old Saxons or Continental Saxons, were a Germanic people of early medieval "Old" Saxony () which became a Carolingian " stem duchy" in 804, in what is now northern Germany. Many of their neighbours were, like th ...
origin, and give as a reason for it the very same proposition stated in words of
Norman Norman or Normans may refer to: Ethnic and cultural identity * The Normans, a people partly descended from Norse Vikings who settled in the territory of Normandy in France in the 9th and 10th centuries ** People or things connected with the Norma ...
origin", as here: When the fallacy of begging the question is committed in more than one step, some authors dub it ,Bradley Dowden
"Fallacies"
in ''Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy''.
or more commonly, ''circular reasoning''. Begging the question is not considered a
formal fallacy In logic and philosophical logic, philosophy, a formal fallacy is a pattern of reasoning rendered validity (logic), invalid by a flaw in its logical structure. propositional calculus, Propositional logic, for example, is concerned with the meaning ...
(an
argument An argument is a series of sentences, statements, or propositions some of which are called premises and one is the conclusion. The purpose of an argument is to give reasons for one's conclusion via justification, explanation, and/or persu ...
that is defective because it uses an incorrect deductive step). Rather, it is a type of
informal fallacy Informal fallacies are a type of incorrect argument in natural language. The source of the error is not just due to the ''form'' of the argument, as is the case for formal fallacies, but can also be due to their ''content'' and ''context''. Fallac ...
that is logically valid but unpersuasive, in that it fails to prove anything other than what is already assumed.The reason is considered a fallacy is not that the
inference Inferences are steps in logical reasoning, moving from premises to logical consequences; etymologically, the word '' infer'' means to "carry forward". Inference is theoretically traditionally divided into deduction and induction, a distinct ...
is invalid (because any statement is indeed equivalent to itself), but that the argument can be deceptive. A statement cannot prove itself. A premiss must have a different source of reason, ground or evidence for its truth from that of the conclusion: Lander University
"Petitio Principii"


Related fallacies

Closely connected with begging the question is the fallacy of
circular reasoning Circular reasoning (, "circle in proving"; also known as circular logic) is a fallacy, logical fallacy in which the reasoner begins with what they are trying to end with. Circular reasoning is not a formal logical fallacy, but a pragmatic defect ...
(), a fallacy in which the reasoner begins with the conclusion. The individual components of a circular argument can be logically valid because if the premises are true, the conclusion must be true, and does not lack relevance. However, circular reasoning is not persuasive because a listener who doubts the conclusion also doubts the premise that leads to it. Begging the question is similar to the ''
complex question A complex question, trick question, multiple question, fallacy of presupposition, or (Latin, 'of many questions') is a question that has a complex presupposition. The presupposition is a proposition that is presumed to be acceptable to the respon ...
'' (also known as ''trick question'' or ''fallacy of many questions''): a question that, to be valid, requires the truth of another question that has not been established. For example, "Which color dress is Mary wearing?" may be fallacious because it presupposes that Mary is wearing a dress. Unless it has previously been established that her outfit is a dress, the question is fallacious because she could be wearing pants instead. Another related fallacy is ''
ignoratio elenchi An irrelevant conclusion, also known as or missing the point, is the informal fallacy of presenting an argument whose conclusion fails to address the issue in question. It falls into the broad class of relevance fallacies. The irrelevant conclus ...
'' or ''irrelevant conclusion'': an argument that fails to address the issue in question, but appears to do so. An example might be a situation where A and B are debating whether the law permits A to do something. If A attempts to support his position with an argument that the law to allow him to do the thing in question, then he is guilty of .


Vernacular

In
vernacular Vernacular is the ordinary, informal, spoken language, spoken form of language, particularly when perceptual dialectology, perceived as having lower social status or less Prestige (sociolinguistics), prestige than standard language, which is mor ...
English,Follett (1966), 228; Kilpatrick (1997); Martin (2002), 71; Safire (1998). ''begging the question'' (or equivalent rephrasing thereof) is sometimes used in place of "raises the question", "invites the question", "suggests the question", "leaves unanswered the question" etc. Such preface is then followed with the question, as in: * " ..ersonal letter delivery is at an all-time low... Which begs the question: are open letters the only kind the future will know?" * "Hopewell's success begs the question: why aren't more companies doing the same?"beg the question
. ''Collins Cobuild Advanced English Dictionary'' online, accessed on 2019-05-13
* "Spending the summer traveling around India is a great idea, but it does beg the question of how we can afford it."beg the question
''Cambridge Advanced Learner's Dictionary & Thesaurus'' online, accessed on 2019-05-13
Sometimes it is further confused with " dodging the question", an attempt to avoid it, or perhaps more often ''begging the question'' is simply used to mean leaving the question unanswered.


See also

*
Ambiguity Ambiguity is the type of meaning (linguistics), meaning in which a phrase, statement, or resolution is not explicitly defined, making for several interpretations; others describe it as a concept or statement that has no real reference. A com ...
*
Catch-22 (logic) A catch-22 is a paradoxical situation from which an individual cannot escape because of contradictory rules or limitations. The term was first used by Joseph Heller in his 1961 novel '' Catch-22''. Catch-22s often result from rules, regulations, ...
*
Circular definition A circular definition is a type of definition that uses the term(s) being defined as part of the description or assumes that the term(s) being described are already known. There are several kinds of circular definition, and several ways of chara ...
* *
Euphemism treadmill A euphemism ( ) is when an expression that could offend or imply something unpleasant is replaced with one that is agreeable or inoffensive. Some euphemisms are intended to amuse, while others use bland, inoffensive terms for concepts that the u ...
* *
Fallacies of definition Fallacies of definition are the various ways in which definitions can fail to explain terms. The phrase is used to suggest an analogy with an informal fallacy. Definitions may fail to have merit, because they are overly broad,Gibbon, Guy (2013). ' ...
*
Loaded question A loaded question is a form of complex question that contains a controversial assumption (e.g., a presumption of guilt). Such questions may be used as a rhetorical tool: the question attempts to limit direct replies to be those that serve the qu ...
*
Open-question argument The open-question argument is a philosophical argument put forward by British philosopher G. E. Moore i§13of ''Principia Ethica'' (1903), to refute the equating of the property of goodness with some non-moral property, X, whether natural (e.g. pl ...
*
Polysyllogism A polysyllogism is a complex argument (also known as ''chain arguments'' of which there are four kinds: polysyllogisms, sorites, epicheirema, and dilemmas) that strings together any number of propositions forming together a sequence of syllogisms s ...
*
Presuppositional apologetics Presuppositional apologetics, shortened to presuppositionalism, is an Epistemology, epistemological school of Christian apologetics that examines the presuppositions on which worldviews are based, and invites comparison and contrast between the res ...
*
Regress argument Infinite regress is a philosophical concept to describe a series of entities. Each entity in the series depends on its predecessor, following a recursive principle. For example, the epistemic regress is a series of beliefs in which the justi ...
() *
Spin (propaganda) In public relations and politics, spin is a form of propaganda, achieved through knowingly providing a biased interpretation of an event. While traditional public relations and advertising may manage their presentation of facts, "spin" often i ...


Notes


References

* Cohen, Morris Raphael, Ernest Nagel, and John Corcoran. ''An Introduction to Logic''. Hackett Publishing, 1993. . * Davies, Arthur Ernest. ''A Text-book of Logic''. R.G. Adams and Company, 1915. * Follett, Wilson. ''Modern American Usage: A Guide''. Macmillan, 1966. . * Gibson, William Ralph Boyce, and Augusta Klein. ''The Problem of Logic''. A. and C. Black, 1908. * Herrick, Paul. ''The Many Worlds of Logic''. Oxford University Press, 2000. * Kahane, Howard, and Nancy Cavender. ''Logic and contemporary rhetoric: the use of reason in everyday life''. Cengage Learning, 2005. . * Kilpatrick, James. "Begging Question Assumes Proof of an Unproved Proposition". ''Rocky Mountain News (CO)'' 6 April 1997. Accessed through Access World News on 3 June 2009. * Martin, Robert M. ''There Are Two Errors in the Title of This Book: A sourcebook of philosophical puzzles, paradoxes, and problems''. Broadview Press, 2002. . * Mercier, Charles Arthur. ''A New Logic''. Open Court Publishing Company, 1912. * Mill, John Stuart. ''A system of logic, ratiocinative and inductive: being a connected view of the principles of evidence, and the methods of scientific investigation''. J.W. Parker, 1851. * Safire, William
"On Language: Take my question please!"
''The New York Times'' 26 July 1998. Accessed 3 June 2009. * Schiller, Ferdinand Canning Scott. ''Formal logic, a scientific and social problem''. London: Macmillan, 1912. * Welton, James. "Fallacies incident to the method"
''A Manual of Logic'', Vol. 2.
London: W.B. Clive University Tutorial Press, 1905. {{Logic Barriers to critical thinking Cognitive inertia Error Fallacies Ignorance Informal fallacies