What is meant by the phrase beg the question?
Begging the question means “to elicit a specific question as a reaction or response,” and can often be replaced with “a question that begs to be answered.” However, a lesser used and more formal definition is “to ignore a question under the assumption it has already been answered.” The phrase itself comes from a …
What is begging the question example?
“Begging the question” is often used incorrectly when the speaker or writer really means “raising the question.” For example: Jane is an intelligent, insightful, well-educated and personable individual, which begs the question: why does she stay at that dead-end job?
What type of fallacy is begging the question?
Begging the question is not considered a formal fallacy (an argument that is defective because it uses an incorrect deductive step). Rather, it is a type of informal fallacy that is logically valid but unpersuasive, in that it fails to prove anything other than what is already assumed.
Why do people use begging the question?
You use the phrase begs the question when people are hoping you won’t notice that their reasons for coming to a conclusion aren’t valid. They’ve made an argument based on a lame assumption.
How do you write begs the question?
The term “begging the question” is just circular reasoning, so be sure to use the phrase only when that circular reasoning is being applied. If it’s not, use “asks the question” or “raises the question.” But seriously, though, I am funny.
How do you use begs the question in a sentence?
“It begs the question” is a response to a logically circular argument. You can use “it begs the question” within a larger sentence, as in the one below: To say that someone is a good leader because she has good leadership skills begs the question. You don’t actually need to explain how or why it begs the question.
