theory begging

an informal fallacy in which evidence for the truth of a theory is derived from a logical or empirical process that already assumes the truth, language, or perspective of that same theory. An example might be citing instances of stimulus–response connections established in empirical studies to verify that behavioristic accounts of learning are true, when the terminology stimulus–response connection was generated by a behavioristic account in the first place. Theory begging is thus a form of circular reasoning.

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Psychology term of the day

May 8th 2024

axiom

n. in logic and philosophy, a universally accepted proposition that is not capable of proof or disproof. An axiom can be used as the starting point for a chain of deductive reasoning. Also called postulate. [from Greek axioma, “worthy thing”] —axiomatic adj.