There is a general name for the first two sorts of error: circular definition. A circular definition is somewhat similar to a question-begging argument: neither offers us enlightenment about the thing we wanted to be enlightened about. Fallacies of definition - Defining with a synonym. A definition is no good if it simply gives a one-word synonym. For example, suppose we define the word "virtue"—an important word in ethics—just using the word "excellence." It might be perfectly true that all vir ...

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Fallacies of definition, Fallacies of definition - Circularity, Fallacies of definition - Defining with a synonym, Fallacies of definition - Defining with a near synonym, Fallacies of definition - Over-broad definitions, Fallacies of definition - Over-narrow definitions, Fallacies of definition - Obscurity

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Begging the question, Begging the question - History, Begging the question - An example, Begging the question - Variations, Begging the question - Related Fallacies, Begging the question - Modern Usage

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More recently, to beg the question has been used as a synonym for "to raise the question", or to indicate that "the question really ought to be addressed". For example, "This year's budget deficit is half a trillion dollars. This begs the question: how are we ever going to balance the budget?" This usage is often sharply criticized by proponents of the traditional meaning, but has nonetheless come into sufficiently widespread use that it is now the most common use of the term. Arguments over whether the newer usage should be considered incorrect are an example of ...

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Begging the question, Begging the question - History, Begging the question - An example, Begging the question - Variations, Begging the question - Related Fallacies, Begging the question - Modern Usage

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In logic, begging the question is the term for a type of fallacy occurring in deductive reasoning in which the proposition to be proved is assumed implicitly or explicitly in one of the premises. For an example of this, consider the following argument: "Politicians cannot be trusted. Only an untrustworthy person would run for office; the fact that politicians are untrustworthy is proof of this. Therefore politicians cannot be trusted" Such an argument is fallacious, because it relies upon its own proposition (in this case, "pol ...

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Begging the question - History Begging the question - An example
Begging the question - Variations
Begging the question - Related Fallacies Begging the question - Modern Usage

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Begging the question is related to the Fallacy of Circular Reasoning. The distinction between the two concepts is as follows: Circular Reasoning is the basing of two conclusions each upon the other (or possibly with more intermediate steps). That is, if you follow a chain of arguments, one of the conclusions is presumed by an earlier conclusion. Begging the question can occur within one argument and consequent conclusion. In the strictest sense, Begging the question occurs if and only if the conclusion is implicitly or explicitly a component of an immediate premise. It is usually accepted, though, to use the term ...

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Begging the question, Begging the question - History, Begging the question - An example, Begging the question - Variations, Begging the question - Related Fallacies, Begging the question - Modern Usage

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The term was translated into English from the Latin in the 16th century. The Latin version, Petitio Principii (petitio: petition, request; principii, genitive of principium: beginning, basis, premise of an argument), literally means "a request for the beginning or premise." That is, the premise depends on the truth of the very matter in question. The Latin phrase comes from the Greek en archei aiteisthai in Aristotle's Prior Analytics II xvi: "Begging or assuming the point at issue consi ...

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Begging the question, Begging the question - History, Begging the question - An example, Begging the question - Variations, Begging the question - Related fallacies, Begging the question - Modern usage

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A circular definition is one that assumes a prior understanding of the term being defined. For instance, we can define "oak" as a tree which has catkins and grows from an acorn, and then define "acorn" as the nut produced by an oak tree. To someone not knowing either which trees are oaks or which nuts are acorns, the definition is fairly useless. A circular definition occurred in an early definition of the kilogram. The kilogram was originally defined as the mass of one litre of water at standard pressure and the temperature at ...

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Circular definition - Shortest possible circular definition

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A definition may be a statement of the essential properties of a certain thing, or a statement of equivalence between one expression and another, usually more complex expression that gives the meaning of the first. These two senses are not mutually exclusive, nor are they equivalent. A thing being defined is called (from Latin) a definiendum; the expression which defines it is called a definiens. Definition - Kinds of definition. A number of different kinds and techniques of definition ...

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Definition - Kinds of definition Definition - Determining meaning: extension intension ambiguity and vagueness Definition - A definition of 'definition' Definition - A contribution to defining the term 'definition' Definition - Quotation

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"That begs the question" is an apt reply when a circular argument is used within one Syllogism. That is, when the deduction contains a proposition that assumes the very thing the argument aims to prove; in essence, the proposition is used to prove itself, a tactic which in its simplest form is not very persuasive. For example here is an attempt to prove that Paul is telling the truth: Suppose Paul does not lie when he speaks. Paul speaks. ...

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Begging the question, Begging the question - History, Begging the question - An example, Begging the question - Variations, Begging the question - Related fallacies, Begging the question - Modern usage

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Logic, from Classical Greek λόγος (logos), originally meaning the word, or what is spoken, (but coming to mean thought or reason) is most often said to be the study of arguments, although the exact definition of logic is a matter of controversy among philosophers. However the subject is grounded, the task of the logician is the same: to advance an account of valid and fallacious inference to allow ...

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Logic - Nature of logic
Logic - Informal formal and symbolic logic Logic - Rival conceptions of logic Logic - History of logic Logic - Relation to other sciences Logic - Deductive and inductive reasoning
Logic - Topics in logic
Logic - Syllogistic logic Logic - Predicate logic Logic - Modal logic Logic - Deduction and reasoning Logic - Mathematical logic Logic - Philosophical logic Logic - Logic and computation
Logic - Controversies in logic
Logic - Bivalence and the law of the excluded middle Logic - Implication: strict or material? Logic - Tolerating the impossible Logic - Is logic empirical?

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A race is a population of humans distinguished from other populations. The most widely used racial categories are based on visible traits (especially skin color and facial features), genes, and self-identification. Conceptions of race, as well as specific racial groupings, vary by culture and time and are often controversial due to their impact on social identity and hence identity politics. Since the 1940s, evolutionary scientists have rejected the view of race according to which a number of finite lists of essential ch ...

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Race - Historical origins of race
Race - History of the term Race - History of race research
Race - 20th- and 21st-century debates over race
Race - Scale of race research Race - Summary of different definitions of race
Race - The origins patterns and physical manifestations of human genetic variation
Race - Origins of modern humans Race - Distribution of variation Race - Substructure in the human population Race - Physical variation in humans
Race - Social interpretation of physical variation
Race - Incongruities of racial classifications Race - Ethnicity as a way of categorizing people Race - Ancestry as a way of categorizing people Race - Current disagreement across disciplines
Race - Case studies in the social construction of race
Race - Race in the United States Race - Race in Brazil
Race - Practical uses of race
Race - Race in politics and ethics Race - Race and intelligence Race - Race in biomedicine Race - Race in law enforcement
Race - Footnotes

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Begging the question is related to the Fallacy of Circular Reasoning. The distinction between the two concepts is as follows: Circular Reasoning is the basing of two conclusions each upon the other (or possibly with more intermediate steps). That is, if you follow a chain of arguments, one of the conclusions is presumed by an earlier conclusion. Begging the question can occur within one argument and consequent conclusion. In the strictest sense, Begging the question occurs if and only if the conclusion is implicitly or explicitly a component of an immediate premise. It is usually accepted, though, to use the term ...

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Begging the question, Begging the question - History, Begging the question - An example, Begging the question - Variations, Begging the question - Related fallacies, Begging the question - Modern usage

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More recently, to beg the question has been used as a synonym for "to raise the question", or to indicate that "the question really ought to be addressed". For example, "This year's budget deficit is half a trillion dollars. This begs the question: how are we ever going to balance the budget?" This usage is often sharply criticized by proponents of the traditional meaning, but has nonetheless come into sufficiently widespread use that it is now the most common use of the term. Arguments over whether the newer usage should be considered incorrect are an example of ...

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Begging the question, Begging the question - History, Begging the question - An example, Begging the question - Variations, Begging the question - Related fallacies, Begging the question - Modern usage

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A definition may be a statement of the essential properties of a certain thing, or a statement of equivalence between one expression and another, usually more complex expression that gives the meaning of the first. These two senses are not mutually exclusive, nor are they equivalent. A thing being defined is called (from Latin) a definiendum; the expression which defines it is called a definiens. Definition - Kinds of definition. A number of different kinds and techniques of definition ...

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Definition - Kinds of definition Definition - Determining meaning: extension, intension, ambiguity, and vagueness Definition - A definition of 'definition' Definition - A contribution to defining the term 'definition' Definition - Quotation

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This is shorter than the example most commonly cited: Recursion See "Recursion". not just because it uses shorter words, but also because the circularity kicks in one word earlier. ...

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Circular definition, Circular definition - Shortest possible circular definition

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Minimum Intent: The following definition of the term 'definition' is presented as a reference, (a comparator, a norm) that must not be violated when defining scientific terms. Axioms: 1) ‘Something’ is a term that has a most general meaning, it can mean anything (but it does not automatically include ‘everything’). 2) 'Ambient' is anything in the vicinity of, and, to a certain degree, within something. 3) ‘Event’ is something that can be distinguished from its ambient. 4) ‘Relation’ is something that has, at l ...

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Definition, Definition - Kinds of definition, Definition - Determining meaning: extension intension ambiguity and vagueness, Definition - A definition of 'definition', Definition - A contribution to defining the term 'definition', Definition - Quotation

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Suppose we have decided to define a certain word or a concept associated with that word. Suppose also that we have identified which sense of the word we are interested in, and we have noted clear cases, some unclear cases, and some borderline cases of the application of the word. The question then is: how can this word be defined? What is desired here is a description of the intension of the word: that is, an account of the set of properties that characterizes all and only members of the extension. In that case, it seems the fo ...

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Definition, Definition - Kinds of definition, Definition - Determining meaning: extension intension ambiguity and vagueness, Definition - A definition of 'definition', Definition - A contribution to defining the term 'definition', Definition - Quotation

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Just as arguments can be good or bad, definitions can be good or bad. A definition gives us the meaning of a word. To understand this more deeply requires an elucidation of a few features of meaning, the principal ones being extension, intension, ambiguity, and vagueness. An ostensive definition points out examples by which one gains a sense of the meaning of a word. An extensional definition exhaustively lists every referent of a word (the completion of an ostensive exploration). An intensional definiti ...

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Definition, Definition - Kinds of definition, Definition - Determining meaning: extension intension ambiguity and vagueness, Definition - A definition of 'definition', Definition - A contribution to defining the term 'definition', Definition - Quotation

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Moore's argument in Principia Ethica is (among other things) a defense of ethical non-naturalism; he argues that the term "good" (in the sense of intrinsic value) is indefinable, because it names a simple, non-natural property. It is, rather, "one of those innumerable objects of thought which are themselves incapable of definition, because they are the ultimate terms by reference to which whatever is capable of definition must be defined" (Principia Ethica § 10 ¶ 1). By contrast, many ethical philosophers have t ...

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Naturalistic fallacy, Naturalistic fallacy - Moore's discussion, Naturalistic fallacy - The Open Question Argument, Naturalistic fallacy - Related Uses

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There are two basic forms of appeal to authority, based on the authority being trusted. The more relevant expertise of an authority, the more compelling the argument. Nonetheless, authority is never absolute, so all appeals to authority which assert the authorities' claims are definitely true are fallacious. The first form of the appeal to authority is when a person presenting a position on a subject mentions some authority who also holds that position, but who is not actually an authority in that area. For instance, the statement "Ar ...

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Appeal to authority, Appeal to authority - Forms, Appeal to authority - Appeal to authority as logical fallacy, Appeal to authority - Examples of appeals to authority, Appeal to authority - Discussion, Appeal to authority - Conditions for a legitimate argument from authority, Appeal to authority - Taxonomy

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