Begging the question

Not to be confused with Calling the question.

In classical rhetoric and logic, begging the question or assuming the conclusion (Latin: petītiō principiī) is an informal fallacy that occurs when an argument's premises assume the truth of the conclusion. Historically, begging the question refers to a fault in a dialectical argument in which the speaker assumes some premise 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.[1][2]

Some examples are:

  • "People have known for thousands of years that the earth is round. Therefore, the earth is round."
  • "Drugs are illegal so they must be bad for you. Therefore, we ought not legalize drugs because drugs are bad for you."[3]

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,[4][5][6][7] though some argue against it.[8]

  1. ^ Dowden, Bradley (27 March 2003). "Fallacies". Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy. Archived from the original on 9 October 2014. Retrieved 5 April 2012.
  2. ^ Herrick (2000) 248.
  3. ^ Walton, Douglas (2008). Informal Logic: A Pragmatic Approach. Cambridge University Press. p. 64ff. ISBN 978-0-521-88617-8.
  4. ^ "beg the question". The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language. HarperCollins. 2022. Retrieved 10 November 2024.
  5. ^ "beg the question". Merriam-Webster. Merriam-Webster, Inc. 2024. Retrieved 10 November 2024.
  6. ^ "beg the question". Oxford Learner's Dictionary. Oxford University Press. 2024. Retrieved 10 November 2024.
  7. ^ "beg the question". Cambridge Advanced Learner's Dictionary. Cambridge University Press. 2024. Retrieved 10 November 2024.
  8. ^ Marsh, David (24 May 2010). "Begging the question". The Guardian. Retrieved 17 March 2023.