4: "Question-Begging" Arguments and "Everyday" Arguments
Now we’ll discuss some often-given arguments about abortion that, unfortunately, we will see are rather poor. We need to engage these arguments first, however, so we are in a better position to productively engage arguments that are at the real core of the issues.
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- 4.1: “Question-Begging” Arguments
- Many common arguments about abortion are what’s called “question-begging,” which means the reason given for the conclusion assumes that conclusion. This means that you wouldn’t accept the reason as a good reason to believe the conclusion unless you already believed that conclusion. This is circular reasoning, and so arguments like this are always bad.