Course
Fallacy Research Essay
Date
How Begging the Question Fallacy is Used Publicly and Personally
Begging the question fallacy is used every day, all the time, and by everyone. Fallacy is defined as an invalid or false argument or statement to deceive someone to make him believe that what is said is true. Politics use fallacies most of the time to convince people that they are good candidates for a political position. Teenagers, use fallacies to convince other teenagers that doing something is not really bad. For example they can argue that ditching school is not bad as long as their parents do not find out, or that sometimes lying could be beneficial.
Begging the question fallacy is interpreted depending on the audience the fallacy is intended for. For people who are atheism, an atheistic site such as Skeptic’s Dictionary defines begging the question as “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 them is called the conclusion” (Barron). In college it could be define as “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” (Hurly). Furthermore, in a political debate it could be define as “a person's commitment to the truth of their political ideology may prevent them from seeing that they are assuming the truth of what they are attempting to prove” (Cline). In this essay, begging the question fallacy will be define as “convincing arguments based on premises.”
Begging the question fallacy is used in public when people are told that to worship God it is enough just to believe in him. Religion leaders argue that it is not important what religion a person practice because all religions lead to the same God. Some say that everyone is free to worship God as a person feels like. Some leaders also say
Cited: Barron, John. Skeptic’s Dictionary . Ed. Perry Marshal. N.p., n.d. Web. 8 Mar. 2012. Cline, Austin. about.com. The New York Times, 6 Mar. 2012. Web. 8 Mar. 2012. Hurley, Patrick. UNC College of Arts and Sciences. CSSAC, 13 Jan. 2008. Web. 8 Mar. 2012.