1. Begging The Question Kelsey Turner and Chelsey White

2. Definition of Fallacy Begging the question is also known as circular reasoning. "Begging the question" is a form of logical fallacy in which a statement or claim is assumed to be true without evidence other than the statement or claim itself. When one begs the question, the initial assumption of a statement is treated as already proven without any logic to show why the statement is true in the first place.

3. Picture of Begging The Question

5. Universal Example John: "God must exist." Jane: "How do you know." John: "Because the Bible says so." Jane: "Why should I believe the Bible?" John: "Because the Bible was written by God."

6. Examples from The Crucible Act 1, Page 185: Rebecca: Goody Ann! You sent a child to conjure up the dead? Mrs Putnam: Let god blame me, not you, not you, Rebecca! I’ll not have judging me any more! Is it natural work to lose 7 children before they live a day? She says that her kids are dying because of a curse, but there is no way that this could possibly happen. So she is blaming something on another event without reasoning.

7. Example from The Crucible Act 3, page 207 Martha Corey: I am innocent to a witch. I know not what a witch is. Hathorne: How do you know, then, that you are not a witch? She claims she’s not a witch, but Hathorne wants to know how she knows she’s not a witch if she doesn’t know what a witch really is.

8. Citation "Fallacy: Begging the Question." Holocaust Educational Resource. The Nizkor Project. Web. 14 Apr. 2011. "Beggars Can't Be Choosy." People's Daily Brief. 4 July 2007. Web. 21 Apr. 2011. "Circular Reasoning « Nash's World." Nash's World. Web. 21 Apr. 2011.