Fallacies: Begging the question

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Fallacies: Begging the question

I'm a PhD student at Duke University, and in this video I'll be discussing the informal logical fallacy called "begging the question," and the related concept of circular reasoning.

Begging the question is an informal logical fallacy, which means it has to do with a flaw in the argument's content.

An argument that begs the question assumes a proposition that's in need of proof.

The term itself can be a source of confusion because it's often used to suggest different things.

Often, we say that an argument begs the question to mean that it's inherently circular.

In other cases, the same phrase indicates the presence of a questionable assumption.

Sometimes people use it loosely to mean "raising the question."

Accusing someone's argument of begging the question is to suggest that they have unjustly assumed a proposition that is in need of proof.

Think of it like this. Suppose, instead of arguing, that you and your opponent are on opposing teams in a game of tug-of-war.

Teams A and B are supposed to pull on the rope.

It'd be cheating if either team arranged to have the line that is supposed to be drawn to divide the two of them already on B's or A's side of the divide.

Similarly, people engaged in an argument can object that their opponent's premises presuppose what's at stake during the disagreement, by accusing them of begging the question.

Statements and arguments can be accused of begging the question in different senses.

The first sense we'll look at is when question-begging concerns a questionable premise.

Of course, a premise, like the foundation of a house, cannot give support to its conclusion if it itself is not supported on independent grounds.

Next, there's the colloquial sense of begging the question that can be used very differently.

This sense is controversial because it often is unrelated to the logical fallacy that is the term's origin.

For example, someone might say in response to a particular statement or argument that it begs the question, to mean that it raises, relates, or introduces some other topic of question for discussion.

However, the context of conversations are often complicated matters.

Lastly, we have the most common sense in which the term begging the question is used, which brings us back to circular reasoning.

When someone says that an argument really is question-begging in this sense, they mean that there is a circularity in the chain of reasoning. typically about justification or meaning.

We can distinguish these cases of circularity into two main sorts: circularity by equivalency and circularity by dependency.

In cases of circularity by equivalency, one of the premises of an argument asserts a proposition that is equivalent to that argument's conclusion.

For example, the premise and conclusion might express the same proposition twice by substituting synonymous words to say the same thing.

An example of this would be to argue that music is a superior art to film; therefore, organized sounds are better than organized images.

And the other type of circularity, circularity by dependency, is the charge that the conclusion and the premise are mutually dependent.

For example, imagine that Cowboy Ted is claiming to have a five-thousand-pound horse.

Now, he claims to know that his horse weighs five thousand pounds because he used a highly accurate scale on his ranch.

But he also claims to know that the scale is precise because he personally calibrated it by the horse's weight of five thousand pounds.

This argument is circular by dependency because the extravagant claims about the horse's weight and the reliability of the scale are mutually dependent upon each other.

Importantly, it is not the presence of circularity that is problematic per se, but the lack of an independently grounded source of justification.

If the horse looked like it weighed five thousand pounds, you might consider this an independent reason.

Or even better, if someone from the Federal Scale Inspection Agency inspected the scale, we might have stronger independent reasons to accept his argument.

Though the circularity would still exist, we would not consider it bad.

For more videos like this one, be sure to check out the rest of the formal and informal fallacies in the critical thinking section.

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Fallacies: Begging the question발음듣기

I'm a PhD student at Duke University, and in this video I'll be discussing the informal logical fallacy called "begging the question," and the related concept of circular reasoning.발음듣기

Begging the question is an informal logical fallacy, which means it has to do with a flaw in the argument's content.발음듣기

An argument that begs the question assumes a proposition that's in need of proof.발음듣기

The term itself can be a source of confusion because it's often used to suggest different things.발음듣기

Often, we say that an argument begs the question to mean that it's inherently circular.발음듣기

In other cases, the same phrase indicates the presence of a questionable assumption.발음듣기

Sometimes people use it loosely to mean "raising the question."발음듣기

Accusing someone's argument of begging the question is to suggest that they have unjustly assumed a proposition that is in need of proof.발음듣기

Think of it like this. Suppose, instead of arguing, that you and your opponent are on opposing teams in a game of tug-of-war.발음듣기

Teams A and B are supposed to pull on the rope.발음듣기

It'd be cheating if either team arranged to have the line that is supposed to be drawn to divide the two of them already on B's or A's side of the divide.발음듣기

Similarly, people engaged in an argument can object that their opponent's premises presuppose what's at stake during the disagreement, by accusing them of begging the question.발음듣기

Statements and arguments can be accused of begging the question in different senses.발음듣기

The first sense we'll look at is when question-begging concerns a questionable premise.발음듣기

Of course, a premise, like the foundation of a house, cannot give support to its conclusion if it itself is not supported on independent grounds.발음듣기

Next, there's the colloquial sense of begging the question that can be used very differently.발음듣기

This sense is controversial because it often is unrelated to the logical fallacy that is the term's origin.발음듣기

For example, someone might say in response to a particular statement or argument that it begs the question, to mean that it raises, relates, or introduces some other topic of question for discussion.발음듣기

However, the context of conversations are often complicated matters.발음듣기

Lastly, we have the most common sense in which the term begging the question is used, which brings us back to circular reasoning.발음듣기

When someone says that an argument really is question-begging in this sense, they mean that there is a circularity in the chain of reasoning. typically about justification or meaning.발음듣기

We can distinguish these cases of circularity into two main sorts: circularity by equivalency and circularity by dependency.발음듣기

In cases of circularity by equivalency, one of the premises of an argument asserts a proposition that is equivalent to that argument's conclusion.발음듣기

For example, the premise and conclusion might express the same proposition twice by substituting synonymous words to say the same thing.발음듣기

An example of this would be to argue that music is a superior art to film; therefore, organized sounds are better than organized images.발음듣기

And the other type of circularity, circularity by dependency, is the charge that the conclusion and the premise are mutually dependent.발음듣기

For example, imagine that Cowboy Ted is claiming to have a five-thousand-pound horse.발음듣기

Now, he claims to know that his horse weighs five thousand pounds because he used a highly accurate scale on his ranch.발음듣기

But he also claims to know that the scale is precise because he personally calibrated it by the horse's weight of five thousand pounds.발음듣기

This argument is circular by dependency because the extravagant claims about the horse's weight and the reliability of the scale are mutually dependent upon each other.발음듣기

Importantly, it is not the presence of circularity that is problematic per se, but the lack of an independently grounded source of justification.발음듣기

If the horse looked like it weighed five thousand pounds, you might consider this an independent reason.발음듣기

Or even better, if someone from the Federal Scale Inspection Agency inspected the scale, we might have stronger independent reasons to accept his argument.발음듣기

Though the circularity would still exist, we would not consider it bad.발음듣기

For more videos like this one, be sure to check out the rest of the formal and informal fallacies in the critical thinking section.발음듣기

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