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Begging the Question

Bruce Thompson says that begging the question,or Petitio Principii, occurs when “the words and phrases used to express the premisses [sic] are synonymous with the words and phrases used to express the conclusion. That is, the conclusion merely restates the premisses, with minor changes” (Thompson). This fallacy forces an assumption on an unwilling audience.

Have you stopped beating your wife?
Patriotic Americans must refuse to pay the illegal income tax imposed by the Jewish bankers who control the government.
We must ignore the environmental kooks who insist on unreasonable regulations that are stifling the nation’s economy.
You should stop being a coward and dump your loser of a husband.
You need to seek professional help with your gambling addiction.
Instead of allowing perverts to marry, we should establish programs for homosexuals to cure them of their disease.
“It is estimated that each year some 10 million wise Americans spend $500 million on essential life-building food supplements and vitamin capsules. Can 10 million Americans be wrong?” (Burton 156).
An MSNBC news anchor reported that Senator Obama was campaigning in South Carolina after a “stinging loss” in New Hampshire.

People in power knowingly employ this fallacy to force a result.

To close a sale:
How are you going to pay, cash or credit?
What did you decide, the Hummer or the M113A1 Armored Personnel Carrier?
Are you going to wear the shoes or shall I wrap them up?
To trick a criminal suspect:
Where did you hide the gun?
How did you spend the money?
To cross examine a witness in court:
Prosecutor: “You couldn’t take any more of her constant nagging and you exploded. I understand. But why did you stuff your wife’s body in the parrot cage?”

Defense Attorney: “Objection, the question assumes facts not in evidence. No evidence shows that she nagged constantly, or that the defendant lost his temper, or that he killed her, or even that she was murdered. She might have committed suicide.”

Judge: “Is the woman even dead? Perhaps we should first call the medical examiner to the stand.”

An attorney raises the legal objection assumes facts not in evidence “when the introductory part of a question assumes the truth of a material fact that is in dispute” (O’Connor).

To win an election:
“Small businesses create jobs for people because that’s what they are, job creators.” Ross Perot, during a televised presidential debate
“When our country is in danger, it is not the job of the president to take an international poll; it’s to defend our country.” Bush deliberately misinterprets Kerry’s comment about a global test. (“Kerry Dismisses”).
Democrats are naïve to want to cut and run in Iraq and then think we won’t have to worry about terrorists any more.

To save souls:
I know Jesus can change lives because he changed mine.
I know the Bible is the Word of God because the Bible says so.

Troyka explains begging the question as circular reasoning (134), which operates like circular definition. (Circular definition is defining in circles.) (That was a circular definition.) Here are some examples of circular reasoning.

Of course he is inconsiderate; he never thinks about others, only about himself.
You have to be strong to play football because that’s what football is all about: power.
To get a good job you need a college education because a degree is essential to a successful career.
The English Patient was so dull that it bored me to death.
I enjoy dancing because it is so much fun.
“The reason I keep insisting that there was a relationship between Iraq and Saddam and al-Qaida is because there was a relationship between Iraq and al-Qaida.” George W. Bush (Thompson)

Begging the question should not be confused with a similar but corrupted expression begs the question. According to Rottenberg, begging the question occurs when a writer “assumes the very question being argued has already been proved” (297). In other words rather than earn the readers’ agreement by giving proof, a writer begs for the readers’ agreement. In contrast, begs the question is often misused as an unfortunate alternative way to say raises another question. Tina Blue cites two examples of the misuse:

“The danger of essays is that they beg the question, ‘Who cares?'”
“A legitimate argument can be made that we went to war under false pretenses…It begs the question, what else are they lying about?” (Blue)
An Internet search will produces another instance: “Gaming centers like this are popping up nationwide to the tune of 30 per month. They’re taking technology to the next level, offering bigger screens and an even wider selection of games, which begs the question, ‘Is all this really better?’” (Bonny). Certainly, raises the question or brings up the question would be less confusing terms.

      This new usage has cropped up because “begging the question” is a misleading name for a fallacy that sneaks or forces rather than begs and that is not always a question.

A statement that begs the question can be obviously false: “The truth is, how do you expect a woman to fly a plane when they can’t even drive a dad-blamed car?” (Anger 200). A statement that begs the question can be proven false. For example, a law professor claims that since 1972, “78 innocent people have been released from death row” [italics mine] (Tucker 33). Yet Bill Pryor points out that in those decades “many death sentences…were reversed for technical errors that were unrelated to the guilt of the accused” (174).

Finally, a statement that begs the question can be true. The husband really may have stopped beating his wife. And for another example, this paper deserves an A because it is superior.

Works Cited

Anger, Ed. “Women Don’t Belong in the Cockpit.” The Language of Argument 199-200.

Blue, Tina. “What Does ‘Begging the Question’ Really Mean?” 14 Aug. 2003. 11 Jan. 05. .

Bonney, Kim. “Entertaining Ourselves to Death.” 01Dec. 2004. The Christian Broadcasting Network. 11 Jan. 2005 http://www.cbn.com/CBNNews/News/041201a.asp

Burton, Larry W. and Daniel McDonald. The Language of Argument. 10th ed. New York: Longman, 2002.

“Kerry Dismisses Criticism of ‘Global Test’ Remark as ‘Pathetic.’” 05 Oct. 2004. Cable News Network. 13 Jan. 2005. http://www.cnn.com/2004/ALLPOLITICS/10/04/kerry.global/

O’Connor, Tom. “Objections at Trial and Other Criminal Proceedings.” http://faculty.ncwc.edu/TOCONNOR/405/405lect08.htm.

Pryor, Bill. “Only the Guilty are Executed.” The Language of Argument. 174-76.

Rottenberg Annette, T. Elements of Argument. 7th ed. Boston: Bedford, 2003.

Thompson, Bruce. “Bruce Thompson’s Fallacy Page.” 17 Nov. 2004. Cuyamaca College. 11 Jan. 2005. .

Troyka, Lynn Quitman. Simon and Schuster Handbook for Writers. 6th ed. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice Hall, 2002.

Tucker, Cynthia. “Capital Punishment: Not in a Just America.” The Language of Argument. 32-33.

Last updated 1/08/2008