Begging the
question
, an argument that begs the question asks
the reader to simply accept the conclusion
without providing real evidence;
the argument either relies on a premise that
says the same thing as the conclusion
(which you might hear referred to as “being
circular” or “circular reasoning”), or
simply ignores an important (but
questionable) assumption that the
argument rests on. Sometimes people use
the phrase “beg the question” as a sort of
general criticism of arguments, to mean
that an arguer hasn’t given very good
reasons for a conclusion.
question
, an argument that begs the question asks
the reader to simply accept the conclusion
without providing real evidence;
the argument either relies on a premise that
says the same thing as the conclusion
(which you might hear referred to as “being
circular” or “circular reasoning”), or
simply ignores an important (but
questionable) assumption that the
argument rests on. Sometimes people use
the phrase “beg the question” as a sort of
general criticism of arguments, to mean
that an arguer hasn’t given very good
reasons for a conclusion.
