Begging the Question

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Begging the Question

• By Ryan Davis and Nick Houska

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Fallacies

• Fallacies- are defects in an argument that cause
  an argument to be invalid, unsound or weak
• Example Hasty Generalization- when your general
  observations are later proved wrong
• When educational standards are lowered, the
  quality of shows on television worsens. So if we
  see television getting worse over the next few
  years, we'll know that our educational standards
  are still falling.

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Ad Hominem Arguments

• Ad hominem- is against the man
• Ad hominem are arguments made against the
  person, rather than against the persons
  arguments
• Example
• Person A as you can see, it just makes sense
  for us to protect the environment.
• Person B Just look at that tie, it is hideous,
  are you really going to listen to a person who
  cant even dress themselves properly?

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Ad Hominem Continued

• Ad hominem happens in two steps
• -an attack against the character of person making
  the claim, her circumstances, or her actions is
  made
• -this attack is taken to be evidence against the
  claim or argument the person in question is
  making

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Ad Hominem Setup

• Person A makes claim X.
• Person B makes an attack on person A.
• Therefore A's claim is false.
• Example Bill "I believe that abortion is
  morally wrong." Dave "Of course you would say
  that, you're a priest." Bill "What about the
  arguments I gave to support my position?" Dave
  "Those don't count. Like I said, you're a priest,
  so you have to say that abortion is wrong.
  Further, you are just a lackey to the Pope, so I
  can't believe what you say."

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Appeals to Opinion vs. Appeals to Tradition

• Appeals to opinions suggest that the argument is
  true because we everyone thinks so.
• Politicians often rely on opinion polls to help
  them make decisions.

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Appeals to Opinion

• This fallacy assumes that because many people
  believe in something, it must be correct or the
  best way something can be done.
• This is not necessarily true
• Columbus earth not flat
• Roger Bannister 4 minute mile

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Appeals to Tradition

• Appeals to tradition is when you argue that this
  is the way we have always done it.
• This is known as the status quo. To maintain the
  status quo is to keep the things the way they
  currently are.
• Appeals to tradition shouldnt be relied on
  because times are changing.
• Examples- Technology and Knowledge

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Begging the Question

• Begging the question is a fallacy and a
  rhetorical device
• Begging the question uses circular reasoning
• Circular reasoning is an attempt to support a
  statement by simply repeating the statement in
  different or stronger terms. 

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Begging the Question continued

• Example
• Bill "God must exist." Jill "How do you know."
  Bill "Because the Bible says so." Jill "Why
  should I believe the Bible?" Bill "Because the
  Bible was written by God.
• Key point You need to prove an assumption like
  this before you or your audience accepts it.

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Questions

1. What is a fallacy? What are some examples of
   fallacies?
2. Define the term Status Quo.
3. Why is it bad to use appeals to opinion and
   tradition? Why might politicians use them anyway?