- Begging the question is a fallacious form of arguing in which one assumes what one claims to be proving.
- An argument is said to beg the question when its conclusion is assumed to be true by its premises and the premises are used to prove the conclusion.
- The classic and simplest form of this fallacy is called arguing in a circle: America is the greatest country in the world because there are no countries better than the U.S.A.
- An argument is a form of reasoning whereby one gives a reason or reasons in support of some claim. The reasons are called premises and the claim one tries to support with premises is called the conclusion.
- If one’s premises entail one’s conclusion, and one’s premises are questionable, one is said to beg the question.
Examples:
- We know a god exists because we can see the perfect order of creation, an order which demonstrates supernatural intelligence in its design.
- Abortion is the unjustified killing of a human being and as such is murder. Murder is illegal. So abortion should be illegal.
- Paranormal phenomena exist because I have had experiences that can only be described as paranormal.