Begging the question

What is Begging the Question

• Affirming the consequent or denying the antecedent.

• Focusing an argument on an uncontroversial aspect of an issue while stipulating or assuming the key point.

• Basing a generalization on inadequate evidence.

• Criticizing opponents personally instead of responding to their arguments.

What are examples of Begging the Question

• Mike: “There are so many Earth-like planets out there that I think there must be life on some of them.” Jenny: “What could you possibly know about this, you are an unemployed loser who spends all his time watching Netflix.”

• “God has all the virtues. One of the virtues is benevolence. Therefore, God is benevolent.”

• Jim: “I think Toyota makes better cars than Volkswagen.” Jack: “That can’t be true since you are an idiot.”

• “George was an ugly man who never married, you shouldn’t take any of his ideas seriously.”

Begging the question is the logical fallacy where a claim is made and then is accepted to be true.

• True

• False

Does the statement "Murdering people is wrong, so the death penalty is also wrong." beg the question?

• No

• Yes

• Probably not

Begging the question is an example of a...

• Allusion

• Rhetorical Question

• Logical Fallacy

• Repetition