Begging the Question: Circular Reasoning as a Tactic of Argumentation

by Douglas N. Walton

This book offers a new theory of begging the question as an informal fallacy, within a pragmatic framework of reasoned dialogue as a normative theory of critical argumentation. The fallacy of begging the question is analyzed as a systematic tactic to evade fulfillment of a legitimate burden of proof by the proponent of an argument. The technique uses a circular structure of argument to block the further progress of dialogue and, in particular,...

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0313275963
• ISBN13: 9780313275968
• Release Date: July 1991
• Publisher: Praeger
• Length: 360 Pages
• Weight: 1.62 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.1" x 6.5" x 9.4"