begging the question

Noun

begging the question (uncountable)

1. A logical fallacy in which a premise of an argument contains a direct or indirect assumption that the conclusion is true; offering a circular argument; circular reasoning.
   • It is an instance of begging the question to argue that God can only do good deeds because God is good.
   • But the thing which is called begging the question, is the making use of the very point, that is the thing in debate, or the thing to be proved, as an argument to prove itself. […] It is called begging the question, because it is a depending as it were on the courtesy of the other side, to grant me...1844, [Jonathan Edwards], “Misrepresentations Corrected and Truth Vindicated, in Reply to the Rev. Solomon Williams”, in The Works of President Edwards, in Four Volumes. A Reprint of the Worcester...

   Synonyms:

   circular argument, circular reasoning, hysteron proteron, petitio principii