Begging the question means "assuming the conclusion of an
argument", a type of circular reasoning.
This is an informal fallacy
where the conclusion that one is attempting to prove is included in an initial
premise of an argument, often in an indirect way that conceals this fact.[1]
The term "begging the question" originated in the 16th century
as a mistranslation of Latin petitio principii "assuming
the initial point".[2] In modern vernacular usage, "to beg the question"
is sometimes also used to mean "to raise the question" (as in
"This begs the question of whether...") or "to dodge the question".[2] This usage is often proscribed.[3]
History
The original phrase used by Aristotle from which "begging the
question" descends is: τὸ ἐξ ἀρχῆς (or sometimes ἐν ἀρχῇ) αἰτεῖν, "asking for the initial thing". The meaning of this to
Aristotle is closely tied to the type of dialectical 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 "the initial thing" (τὸ ἐξ ἀρχῆς, τὸ ἐν ἀρχῇ) and one of the rules of the
debate is that the questioner cannot simply ask for it (that would be trivial
and uninteresting). Aristotle discusses this in Sophistical
Refutations and in Prior Analytics book II, (64b, 34–65a 9, for
circular reasoning see 57b, 18 – 59b, 1....There's more follow the link.....
· Formal Fallacies -A formal fallacy is an error in logic that
can be seen in the argument's form.[1]All formal fallacies are specific types of non sequiturs.
· Informal Fallacies are Informal
fallacies– arguments that are fallacious for reasons other than structural
(formal) flaws and usually require examination of the argument's content.[12]
My List
Argumentum ad hominem
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