Simpsons Logical Fallacies: Begging the Question

Open captions change to closed captions during second half of video. Use of copyrighted content is protected by fair use which says that copyrighted content can be used so long as commentary is given. Definitions of logical fallacies come from Practical Argument by Laurie G. Kirszner and Stephen R. Mandell.

This video uses the same clip as the "Hasty Generalization" video. I discuss a different aspect of the interaction. Logical fallacies often overlap with one another.

[jaded]

this is more of a sweeping generalization rather than begging the question

[KBAFourthtime]

I'm sure the following point I'm about to make is another fallacy itself (red herring), but the problem with the hatchlings being lizards is, as far as I once read in a kid's animal encyclopedia (some of which included activities), lizard eggs are soft and leathery, and those are hard like real bird eggs.

[v_srikanth]

Dude! I find it incredibly amazing how you can watch something like Simpsons and relate it to logical fallacies.
You must be a huge nerd.
just kidding. Thanks for sharing.

[amandam]

Thank you for saving my lesson plans this week, the curriculum suggested videos are a snore-fest

[Minakshi-hyfh]

Sir you don't know how much you help me. You sort out my all confusion regarding this phrase

[rocketpunchgo]

Homer didn't know he was onto something when he said those "birds" looked like dinosaurs!

[gerson_]

The funniest moment is Bart saying "ickso fatso" 😂

[--Valek--]

pretty well describes modern cosmology

[andrewobrien]

Lisa is also wrong on one point. Beaks aren’t something exclusive to birds I mean yeah all birds have beaks but not all beaks are on birds. I mean some turtles and a few mammals have them. I mean Lisa could have just said “They are lizards!” But tbh using Bart’s flawless reasoning, he’d think that birds who lay their eggs in the nests of other birds are the same specie.

[aimfulRenegade]

using the same clip for two fallacies.

[owennilens]

Is it like Cartman's: "if dolphins are so smart, then why do they live in igloos?"

[Obliviousovertimer]

ARE YOU USING THE SAME VID FOR EVERY ARGUMENT? SERIOUSLY?

[ohmss]

No, this is a false cause fallacy. I’m sorry, but this video isn’t correct!

Your definition says that begging the question assumes that a statement is self evident or true when it actually requires proof. In other words, you are saying that begging the question is a fallacy of unwarranted assumptions. Indeed, begging the question is one of several fallacies of unwarranted assumptions. However, begging the question is when at least one premise of an argument presupposes the conclusion. In other words, begging the question is circular in nature, but Bart Simpson’s reasoning in this video is not.

A false cause fallacy is another fallacy of unwarranted assumptions, but it occurs when one possible cause of a phenomenon is assumed to be the cause although reasons are lacking for excluding other possible causes. “Post hoc, ergo propter hoc” or “after this, therefore because of this” is one of the most popular forms of false cause fallacy, and I actually think it is the fallacy we’re seeing in this video.

In this case, Bart Simpson deductively concludes that because the lizard eggs came from a bird’s nest, that the lizard eggs must come from birds. He is describing a false cause for the lizard eggs based on an unwarranted assumption, that eggs in a bird’s nest can only come from birds. This is a fallacy of unwarranted assumptions (like begging the question), but it is not circular in nature (the way begging the question is).

I hope that helps. I’ve found that begging the question is a hard fallacy to identify, but it starts with having a solid definition. Begging the question fallacy occurs when a premise presupposes the conclusion it is trying the prove, aka arguing in a circle.